Multiverse: The Other Stories
by dragonridley
Summary: The Multiverse is the location used for the stories done by me, and Keyblader Chad. These are the other stories, the untold ones within the Multiverse, including the beginning of it, and the rise of the creator god Azrael, and the Chaos Lord.
1. The Beginning

Note:

Copyright. Keyblader Chad owns the chaos lord, while I hold Azrael.

The rest belongs to all other known parties (aka Q belongs to the owners of Star Trek and Beyondard belongs to Capcom. ((see Rockman. exe BEAST to find out. Wiki it.))

This is the canon backstory to the Gamemaster; the next generation and the Darkmega saga and it's sequels.

It is designed to explain the origin of the Chaos Lord and Azrael, and will eventually explain the existence of the Multiverse War and the Terran Empire.

Also, the character description is kept out on purpose.

Also just for note. Lysander means Liberator. and Procurator Humanus is a translation of Latin, meaning in English. Agent Human.

* * *

It began, with the sound of time, silently ticking…

The Multiverse….

Divided into 20 universes, they flow with life today, with battles between races, good and evil, right and wrong, the people's teachings spread to those they want, the blood they spill is their own choice…

This is about before all that.

There was a void of nothing.

Well, not entirely, but before, there was nothing in existence in this space, eternal black, a hole almost, in the forever expanding Omniverse.

There was now something though. A tiny glitter of light in the center. Colours that forever changed from it, blinking into existence.

One figure was there, watching this distant light, wearing a cloak, human in shape, noticing he was alone for a small amount of time, knowing full well others were now on their way, the light being a calling sign.

New life was about to come into existence here.

Death, within his black cloak, carrying his scythe, had appeared and watched, as the Multiverse was finally born from a single spark in the darkness of all. He watched as an array of colours and energy swarmed around him, and other beings that had arrived just at that moment, along with the strange figure already here were, and eventually, all this mass of energy formed into a single, blue orb, in the dark…

For Death, this wasn't his first Multiverse. This was his eighth one to be precise. Seven other Multiverses across the great void of the Omniverse, he has watched over. All with cycles, all with beings great and small.

Except for one. That really didn't get off the ground that well. Twenty cycles of animals, rarely a sentient being. He remembered that his form for that Multiverse was a five legged pitch black insect with red glaring eyes and could only speak by clicking his mandibles.

Job's a job though. He had to do it regardless if he disliked it. It was the natural order that he existed for. He remembers when he first came to be, and that first Multiverse he was assigned to. Being a machine on a skeleton horse…it was, interesting.

This eighth one was the first time he had ever met another Death. He had competition to claim the position of…well…Death. That was one of the others that were here, watching the birth.

They had a quick heated moment debating the colour of the infinite void of the Omniverse. That Death claimed it was black, while Death claimed it was Blue. They stopped when they agreed that it was at least blue on the outside, at least.

That other Death was also put in her place, thus losing the position of Death of this Multiverse, by a game called 'poker'.

And this was the first time he'd ever watch, as one of the guests, the first one here, enjoying the very-soon-to-be-happening spectacle, add his own little spice into it.

That person was the reason he and the others here had changed forms. When he first arrived, Death was giant blue hairy spider, the size of a Bargzaualgouliom…a species from the previous Multiverse he belonged to. To this Multiverse, he was about the size of a bus. A few mili-seconds of arriving here, it changed.

He enjoyed this new form more, this…four limbed shape. Two legs, two arms, a single head, and a simple chest, with ribs, and a hip. The cloak was something he felt comfortable with, and the scythe, well, he used to have one back in the fifth Multiverse he lived in. He liked it. The blue glow he had in the eye sockets were a remnant from his spider shape, as he used to have twenty glowing eye sockets.

And the language this figure spoke, was simple, yet could be adjusted to any tone. He liked it. Much better then trying to screech at everything to get your message across or telepathic, god the headaches. Using his powers to speak instead of his mind only was a positive step.

Also, the poker game with the paper cards was the figures suggestion. Death was pretty sure he got the hang of it in the end, hell, he beat the female Death, so he must've done it right, somehow.

And now that same figure unleashed his power to the orb of creation, flowing into it, creating glowing purple streaks of energy over the orb, twisting into the energies of existence. Eventually, the orb changed completely, from it's blue light, to a light purple, the energy of the figure mixed in perfectly.

There was silence afterwards. The figure was confused, and turned to Death. "So…uhh, what happens next? Did something go wrong?"

"IT WILL BE HEARD."

The faintest popping sound. So faint that nothing should be able to hear it, and yet, they did, like a bubble popping. Something had appeared, before the orb. A teal coloured, rocky crystal, that weakly glowed in comparison to the creation behind it.

Death knew what it was.

The first of existence. And with each one he had seen before, the first lifeform shall spawn from it.

As if on cue, to Deaths point of view, the orb behind it finally erupted, a bright, powerful white light, as if pushing away the darkness, swallowed them.

The light carried little heat, a slight warmth, and no force behind it, but what appeared afterwards, marked the start at last. A blanket of stars, formed out of the darkness, was all around them, numerous colours, shapes and sizes, all constantly moving, trying to find form, a purpose.

Before them, the crystal was now surrounded by a fiery blue glow, as it floated there. Death slowly approached it, and put his skeletal hand on the crystal.

"I AM DEATH. YOU ARE LIFE. FROM YOUR ESSENCE, YOUR FORM, WE SHALL BEGIN. YOUR NAME…"

The glow became stronger from the fires, making the Crystal seemingly disappear within the flames.

"…SHALL BE AZRAEL."


	2. The 1st Cycle

Azrael. God of the Multiverse, was born. The fires turned white, any sign of that crystal was gone. Instead, the fires symbolised the first soul, the first 'being' in existence for this Multiverse.

At first, he remained nothing more then a soul, a glowing star in the vast emptiness of time and space…but he begun to create, a conscious formed,he had a purpose, that much he knew.

The elements became his playthings, and soon, the stars were adjusted and organized, the Multiverse was formed out of twenty Universes…one prime sun in the centre of each universe, and millions of small ones around each.

And soon, he created planets…different ones, different environments, different ideas he had with each…soon, the universe was filled with rocks, that would in time, bear fruit to his ideas.

It took many millions of years…but the planets took shape…and with those shapes, Azrael had the idea of life. Something to exist on the worlds for him to watch. To each planet, he sent seeds, blueprints, into the vast oceans, the dusty terrains, the barren wastelands…and plants begun to grow…

But as the plants grew, some into large creations, others small, Azrael felt that something more was needed…he created more blueprints, ideas…this time, of life that can move, that can think, that can co-exist with the plants…he sent the seeds once again to as many of the worlds as he could…

And thus, creatures were created, small, weak beings that fought one another to live…but slowly, they also grew, some lived in the water, some lived in the air, and some lived on the ground, but above all else, creatures roamed the planet…

Azrael was content, and for a time, it was good…

* * *

The creatures that roamed these worlds begun to evolve, and grow. Billions of years of hunters and hunted on each world, survival of the fittest, forced the beings grow larger and greater, leaping in bounds in evolution that would later be restricted by Azrael for the latter cycles.

Many became sentient, and some, finally gained the intelligence for a voice, and that voice spoke of what their general name would be forever more…

Leviathans.

For many generations, they would simply be savage, monsters bent on total dominance on whatever world they existed on. But the ones who made a voice, who managed to speak…they begun to spread the words.

The words of a new era.

It came from the beings that called themselves Dis. Several dozen Space born Leviathans, they created the language, and understood it, and now searched for beings that could understand it with them, spread it out to the Multiverse…

And they found such beings on one world.

The sky was orange, the earth below, barren and black, lava cracked to the surface, this planet was young, yet it held a rather powerful Leviathan, as they had felt, and during their first encounter, he showed, overpowering them with ease, before they managed to fill his mind with their knowledge.

They named him Nozdormu, meaning 'The Timeless One'. They continued to teach him words, and his mind adjusted, it quickly learnt these words, and with them, he too, gave them a gift back.

It had taken a thousand years of showing this Leviathan speech, but what it returned to them…was a way to turn these words into pure power. Combined with such power, they could subdue almost any other Leviathan through terror…they learnt, to shout.

As many thousands more years went by, as the planet cooled, the climate changed, Nozdormu changed. He found another Leviathan, similar to his species, showed her the language, taught her such, to show it can be taught beyond the beings of Dis, and she too, gained a name. Soridormi, meaning 'Spectral Timeless'.

She would eventually give birth to three children over time. From their youth, they learnt the language, and were deemed by the Dis Leviathans to be the messengers for the future, for all Leviathans across the Multiverse.

The eldest was called Anachronos, born with bronze scales, with front and back legs, and magnificent wings, his name meant 'Son of Time'

The middle child was named Alduin, born with pitch black scales, hind legs, and massive wings to replace the lack of front limbs, his name meant 'World Eater Destroyer'

The youngest child, born with front limbs, gold scales on his back and sides, but silver on his belly, and golden wings out of his back, with a long, mighty tail, was named Shinryu. 'God Dragon'

Then they were deemed adults, Nozdormu told them of a task which they may undertake. He wished for what the Dis wanted to be fulfilled, for all Leviathan kind to stand together, to be taught the words.

Anachronos was against this. He said to his father and mother, in their tongue "For what reason should we extend this gift beyond ourselves? Because of it, we are gods to all others. We can strike fear and make them humble. If taught the words, they may fight us, and many bloody battles will come out of it across the Multiverse."

Alduin laughed at this, and stood with the notion of teaching. "The battles would weed out the weak and allow the strong to lead such as ourselves! We could command this entire Multiverse, the battles will be glorious!"

It was boiled down to Shinryu. Who floated in the sky above them, seemingly in his own world, looking across the orange sky. "It is the right time to teach them. Things must change, and we are the rightful ones to make that change. If our eldest truly refuses to act, then both Alduin and myself shall teach those who are willing to follow you father and mother. We shall be your limbs, reaching out across the Multiverse."

That convinced Nozdormu, he turned to his eldest, asking if he would follow his younger siblings.

He refused.

He remained at their homeworld, watched, as his younger siblings departed, and begun their spiral upwards, to new heights and understanding between the worlds of leviathans. Years had seemingly passed, nights and days passed, the sands of time marched on, and yet he remained with his mother and father on their world, content.

It seemed like nothing could go wrong for them, perhaps there was going to be calm on their world, with no sign of the two brothers ever returning.

That would not be the case. Three thousand years passed, before the silence was broken.

One night, as the eldest was ready to lay his head to rest, he heard the call of his father on one of the highest mountains of their world, along with his mother. He flew to them, and upon his arrival, looked to the distance, as the moon of the world rose…

A wave of colours, numerous shadows, flew within the sky, crawled across the ground, marched on the land, heading towards them. Hundreds of thousands of numerous types of Leviathans, different body shapes, length, mass, skin, eyes, maws, all had gathered together, in a display of power, being led by none other then the younger siblings, who only showed themselves from the mass when the large wave of Leviathans begun to circle the mountain, their cries and calls signalising a unity.

Nozdormu spoke to his children, asking them what the gathering was for. Shinryu explained it, saying that a new era is dawning, that their family is now seen as the masters of the Multiverse, that these Leviathans are from across twenty universes, all of them agreeing to a unity, with many more on other worlds, already in service to them.

And all of them knew of the words. They could communicate, they could understand and swore to Nozdormu their allegiance and proclaiming him the God of the Multiverse. They constantly called him 'Akatosh', in their tongue, 'Leviathan God'.

But Nozdormu did not welcome that title. He looked to his children and asked them why the creatures believed him to be God. Alduin boasted with pride that their family were destined to control all others, so what other title can there be for their great father?

What Shinryu and Alduin did not know was what Nozdormu, their brother and their mother learnt from the Dis. As the years had gone by, Nozdormu asked them the question of if there was a higher being. Only four of them answered his question, while the others remained silent.

"We had seen it. God. We four travelled the stars, and encountered it, before we found you. We had believed it to be just another creature, a giant flying being with a golden white aura. But when it used our own words, we understood what it truly was. He had created this multiverse we live in, we are his first races, we, the Leviathans, all of us, are his apex race. The first, the strongest. He told us to find the others, to spread the words, to teach ourselves and grow more so. When we found your family, we knew you were perfect to be the next ones to learn, to continue the expansion of our knowledge."

It was only after Shinryu and Alduin had dispersed the Leviathans, sending them across the world to rest, did their father explain to them what the Dis had said about God.

Alduin was enraged. "We are the gods father! Not some strange thing that the Dis managed to find once! We have shown the ways to a new age to all of these beings, and now you say we are no greater then them!?"

Nozdormu looked to the black scaled beast. "We are the servants of a god, but we are also masters of others. This I can accept, and this is what you must accept also. We are not the masters of all, but we are the masters of Leviathans. We can lead them. Just we cannot claim to be, gods."

"If it truly is god, then it would of shown itself by now to prove it exists! But all I see are the stars that warm our worlds, the sky and earth that supplies our food with life, the water that quenches our thirst! It all belongs to us!"

Nozdormu turned his back to his angered child. "I will not explain it anymore. We are not gods, Alduin. We are as mortal as the others. You must accept that."

The named World Eater Destroyer could not accept it. He chose to leave the mountain, refusing to rest with his family. Shinryu, who had remained silent, chose to follow his brother across the land, as the moon reflected on their wings and backs.

"Alduin, do not listen to our father. It is obvious that the Dis are afraid of our family becoming arrogant of our position."

"Fear or not, it had gotten to his mind that we are as weak as the others of this Multiverse!"

Shinryu looked to his brother. "Then we shall prove there is no god. We shall prove we are the gods who can decide life and death. Come, there is an idea I have in mind to do such."

* * *

Several months passed, and the lack of activity from the youngest children was becoming a concern for Nozdormu. He expected at first, that they had departed the world, to continue convincing more species of Leviathans to join as one, but his mate, their mother, could sense their presence remaining on this planet.

She eventually called the eldest to the summit, as the sun begun to set, and spoke with him whilst her love departed to speak to the Dis. "Anachronos, my beautiful child. Do you feel as I do? Do you sense something in the air? Something in the land and water?"

The Leviathan nodded. "Yes, I have sensed it for some time. In the southern lands. I feel there is a darkening presence. I have spoken to father before, but-"

"He wishes to consult Dis. I know. But I feel this cannot wait. Please, go and see what it is for me. If it's a danger to us, stop it. I know I can count on you." She gently moved her head closer, and lightly brushed her face against his.

He responded in kind, before moving a few steps back, unfolding his wings, and taking to the skies, directly heading southward.

It took him until night had fallen, but he soon found his brothers. He found what they were doing, the dark feeling being justified. The wind as he noticed, was picking up rapidly as he approached them, the once clear sky had turned cloudy, and circling around, were Alduin and Shinryu. Anachronos could feel energy between them, a force growing stronger and stronger…

And it soon showed itself, as a dark, blackened sphere formed in-between them, spanning several dozen meters wide and long, the winds seemingly turning towards it, the air around them all beginning to grow thin.

He heard them chant, he had them shout several times, they were producing a Thu'um which he couldn't recognize, and that alone was enough to intervene. He flew towards them, roaring out to signal his arrival, which they seemed to ignore by continuing to fly around, but Alduin confirmed they had spotted him. "Elder brother! Come and join us! With your power we can complete the fissure!"

"Fissure? Explain!"

Shinryu had now come into view, as Alduin circled round. "We're going to prove we are the gods of this Multiverse! We going to open a tear within the very fabric of time and space!"

Anachronos was right away horrified at this. "Dis have warned us to use our Thu'um with caution! You cannot do this! You do not know what will happen to us!"

Alduin was back in view. "You will not join us then elder?"

"Never! Either stop this madness now, or I'll have to deal with both of you!"

Shinryu returned to view, but this time, came to stop, waiting for Alduin, who eventually returned and flew next to him, showing the dark sphere was not disappearing now, the wind still flowing towards it, the skies above turning black. "You would have us kill you to prove we are gods?" Shinryu spoke to his eldest brother.

"I would rather resolve this without killing my own siblings, but I know, I can see you both are blind to the truth, that we are just mortals!"

That was enough. Both Alduin and Shinryu launched towards him, both shouting out different Thu'ums, Alduin unleashing fire, Shinryu emitting lightning. Their brother retaliated, using ice, blasting a wave of it from his maw.

Soon all three had caught themselves up, their claws, their shouts, being thrown across the skies and land, Anachronos showing he had an advantage other his brothers. As the eldest, he had the toughened scales, the mightier claws, compared to his siblings…a greater voice.

Alduin was heavily wounded by the greater sibling within a dozen passes between them, and was soon knocked out of the air by Anachronos using all four of his claws on Alduin's back, digging in deep, blood pouring out, and flying straight down, forcing the black Leviathan to come along, and was released before impact, the elder easily heading back up no worse for wear, and Alduin smashing into the ground, the dirt spraying around and away, leaving, as it settled, a crater, with Alduin laying there, panting, trying to recover.

Shinryu had attempted several times to take his brother down with the shouts, ranging from the elements to sheer force, but Anachronos would simply counter with 'Force Balance Mighty Push'. the wave of light faded blue energy struck Shinryu's inferior 'Force Balance Push', making it fade away, and hit Shinryu with such a force it threw him back, losing his flying ability and almost heading down towards the ground, if not for his quick recovery.

The battle remained against Shinryu, even when Alduin returned to the fight. Anachronos was not one that was going to fall so easy and those they encountered on their travels. Shinryu knew if anything, their plan to prove their god status had to just go on. "Alduin! Stall him!"

The black dragon beast understood, quickly trying to ram his elder brother, who focused his attention on Alduin, and used his fire breath to scorch him and force him to abandon his charge. Shinryu had flown back over towards the sphere, knowing that as their battle had gone on, the energy within it had been growing…their spell they had created, was ready to bear some fruit.

Anachronos had used one of his lower limbs to kick Alduin away as he tried to bite, and noticed Shinryu having left them both. "SHINRYU! STOP!"

He wouldn't. He looked to the sphere, and prepared to unleash the fissure. "Time, Unbound, Tear, UNENDING!"

It was at the same time Anachronos had said his own four words of a shout. "Force Balance, Mighty PUSH!"

Alduin was the only one who noticed a fourth arrival at that moment. Their wings gliding them towards the sphere, towards Shinryu, to try and stop him.

The Leviathan, as it got close, saw Shinryu, after unleashing a ball of purple energy towards the sphere, turn and see the attack coming to him from Anachronos, and quickly moved out of the way of both, flying back, only then noticing the newcomer just miss where he was…

As the force power struck, and Anachronos realized who it was that had been hit, that was now knocked by the powerful blow, unable to control itself, and heading right into the sphere, absorbing the energy that Shinryu had fired on the way.

Soridormi, their mother, soon vanished into the void of the sphere, all three had watched her get swallowed up.

The sphere then turned from it's pitch black state, into a bright, golden glow, temporarily blinding the three, who tried to look away. The winds around them grew stronger and stronger, and for a moment, all of them were sure it was about to pull them in, when it exploded, a white light covering the world, as a surge of orange, golden sparkling energy launched up to the stars, the clouds parting to allow it by.

Soon, the white light died off, the winds stopped, the clouds begun to disperse…when the brothers could see again, they noticed there was nothing left behind. The sphere was gone, the powerful energy was gone…their mother, was gone.

It was as of this moment, within the depths of space, created from a great amount of energy, from the Lifestream itself, of a world, from the powers of two powerful Leviathans, and the now shredded soul of one, the space anomaly, Nexus, had appeared, in each of the Universes.

* * *

Nozdormu had fallen silent over the years after. He had told the Dis of what had occurred, he had asked them to find god again, to ask his aid to restore what he had lost. But they refused. They said they could not ask him, as the mate to the Leviathan was not actually dead. Her soul was torn asunder, it's fragments repeatedly broken down into specs of life, now sustaining a new element in the Multiverse, a new power. She was the Nexus, she was still alive. Just beyond any hope of ever being what she was before.

Now the father of the three Leviathans sat on the highest mountain of his homeworld, and every night, would look up to the stars, watching, and waiting to see the glowing string of light that was the Nexus.

Anachronos was distraught with the loss of his mother. For hundreds of thousands of years, he vanished from all knowledge of his brothers and father. Alduin and Shinryu assumed he was being a coward, refusing to face the fact he gave the killer blow. Nozdormu knew better. The night before he departed, Anachronos visited his father one last time, and admitted everything, and blaming his younger siblings for their experimenting. He planned for revenge, he planned to make them pay for this.

Nozdormu did not stop his son. Instead he pointed his child to the Dis, telling him to speak to them before he leaves. Ask them if plotting against his own siblings would accomplish anything.

He went to them, and they gave him one warning. "The path of vengeance is a dark and costly one. You will twist the voice we have given you into a weapon of hate. You will be no better then your brothers. You must accept the death of what you loved, and look to watching your brothers. Only you are willing to keep them in check. If you leave, they will grow more powerful. Your father will not stop them, as nor will we. We are simply the teachers, not their masters."

He chose the path of hate. He departed the world the very next night, and after, there were no more sightings of him.

This left Alduin and Shinryu as the most dominant force of the Leviathans. Though they dared not, for now, to attempt that shout which could cause damage to time and space, they continued to experiment with new shouts, continued to explore the multiverse, to obtain even more minions, even more Leviathans to control.

They gained the likes of the flying massive space serpent dragon named Babylon, the grand beast that could morph between two forms, Giratina, the many forms of the Bahamut clan, the massive floating beast Sin, the giant lava imbued dragon named Neltharion, the mineral hoarding dragon named Smaug, and a unusual serpent like figure, who had two different wings, a goat like head with, on top, an antler and a unicorn horn, a body like that of furry brown mammal, a talon for one limb, a lions paw for another, a reptiles leg for a third, and hoof for the fourth, and his tail was that of a red dragons, with fur spawning out at the end of it. This was who would become an apprentice under Shinryu, to learn as many shouts as he could, and serve as Shinryus arms, someone who would follow him across the Multiverse. Ronaallo, his name meaning 'Balance By Deceive'.

As time went on, the order of the Leviathans was finalised across the Multiverse, and the true head of it, was Shinryu, as Alduin chose to stand down to allow his younger brother, the one who had organised nearly all of this, to take command. Lesser lives were the food, the worlds were their hunting grounds, and as so long as the Leviathans that served Shinryu paid tribute by bringing hunted flesh to him and Alduin to feast on back on their homeworld, then the Leviathans can hunt as much as they pleased.

Masses of extinction occurred as a result of this. Worlds quickly begun to die out. With their constant feeding and collected mass bodies to give to their leaders to enjoy, the Leviathans drained planets of their living resources, burning, breaking or freezing the worlds in order to make sure that there was no more food to be gained. They failed to know that by killing the planet itself, by fire, ice or sheer destruction, they removed any hope of life coming back to them.

As they ruined each world, they simply went to another to continue their hunt. Very few stopped to notice the destruction, fewer still attempted to halt it and bring life back, for those that did stop, were not giving tribute, and those that did not give tribute, were disregarded by Shinryu and Alduin, and were deemed exiles. They could keep their world, but if a Leviathan who faithfully follows the two brothers come to it, then the exiled Leviathan is to be classed the same as all the animals on the world he owns. As food.

Soon, whole Universes were devoid of life. Millions of worlds fell into deathly silence. Competition was becoming more frequent. The Dis sensed what was going on, they could predict that around a million years time, there would only be a few universes with life left to sustain the Leviathans. The beasts were not letting up on the hunting, it was actually becoming worse and more bloody. The tributes became a challenge to see who could bring the largest amount to please Shinryu and Alduin.

They cared little, only praising each Leviathan as they came and went. They enjoyed the bounty they received, slept well with full stomachs, and even found comfort in each other. In the time of the Leviathans, there was very little morals established, and as such, two brothers mating was seen as acceptable. Shinryu was the dominate male, and Alduin, the passive one.

They did make sure to do two things between the mating, resting and feasting though. One was often they would fly up the highest mountain of their world, and pass food to their father, making sure he ate well. They would drop the food, and give him the deepest bows of respect, proud of themselves for what they bring, every time.

Their father would only eat in silence, at least acknowledging they had brought him substance. With that, they would depart, and return to their own mountain, craved and hacked into a nesting ground for them, a massive crater, several layers of bones being used as bedding.

Then, after collecting as much as they could in flesh, often with the aid of Ronaallo and several other Leviathans that were close to them, they done their second task. They all carried the meat off to the great ocean of their planet, and dropping the flesh as they flew over the deepest spot, turning round and heading back to their home afterwards.

The Dis had chosen to live on this world along with them. Their massive bodies had sunk into the ocean, were they could focus and meditate amongst themselves. They often be alerted to the arrival of the brothers, and rise up close to the surface, and awaiting for their own tribute from the two Leviathans.

Shinryu wanted to keep a good standing with the Dis. He felt by doing this, they would eventually see things his way, and join them properly. But as the years went on, they kept eating what he brought, and never spoke to him in return. Shinryu settled for them at least remaining here. At least they could be watched, at least they would not try to fight him.

The Multiverse, as far as Shinryu was concerned, belonged to him now. There was no god, there was only him and his family. He felt true satisfaction with that in mind.

Then, Anachronos returned.

He had returned to their world without warning, and with him, were several dozen Leviathans, all of them bar two, were undead. They were nothing more then skeletal beings with flesh and scales hanging off them, somehow gliding through the sky towards Alduin and Shinryu. They all had deep purple auras around them, and their eye sockets glowed with black energy.

One of the living allies of Anachronos was none other then Smaug, having been promised several dozen planets for himself to use by Anachronos. With such a reward meaning the minerals on those planets would be his, he was more then willing to switch sides, something Shinryu long since predicted of Smaug and his behaviour.

The other was a dragon like Alduin and Smaug, by the name of Durnehviir. 'Curse Never Dying'. He was a known Leviathan to the ranks of Shinryu, one who fell silent long ago. He was known for experimenting with thu'ums, to commit such a power to experimenting with the undead and the afterlife itself, at first, as Shinryu had assumed, to see if there was such, now it seems he was merely aiding the elder brother to rise up with a force of undead.

Anachronos seemed to had dulled in colour over the years, as his golden scales were now grey, his eyes had lost their golden glow, but now were a weak yellow colour, with a purple tint in them. He allowed his undead force to circle around where Alduin and Shinryu had nested, and landed close to his brothers, smashing and shattering bones as he did, standing tall before them.

"Anachronos, you dare show your pathetic face here, with nothing more then a forger of metals and a necromancer, as well as dried bones dragged back to the living? HAH!" Alduin mocked his elder.

"Alduin, I had wounded you easily before. You appear no different, and thus, will be easily dealt with like before." Anachronos answered, looking down at his brother, before looking to Shinryu. "And you. The youngest of our family, and yet, you stand the tallest, acting as if you are the greatest being to grace our Multiverse."

Shinryu slowly rose himself up, floating slightly above the layer of bones, looking at Anachronos. "And you have changed. I can sense it. That commanding soul you once wielded has been morphed over time into something else. Do not think we are unprepared brother. We have gained power over the time you have departed. Since you are our eldest, I will only give you this one chance to bow down and cease this attempt at attacking us. Do so, and you may leave and skulk in a corner of a Universe of your choosing, out of our sight, out of our minds. Refuse, and I swear to you, you will not leave alive."

Anachronos did not back down, he snarled at the youngest, then looked up to the sky, to Smaug and Durnehviir for a moment, before focusing on his brothers once more. "You see my two allies Shinryu? They are the start of my reign! They will watch as you both perish, and I will gain more allies once your carcass has been thrown off this mountain! ATTACK, MY UNDYING ARMY!"

As the undead Leviathans quickly turned and aimed to land near Alduin and Shinryu, both looked at one another, and suddenly, took to the skies, laughing, flying higher and higher together, as the undead quickly followed suit.

The reason for their laughter became obvious, as several tense minutes passed for Anachronos, before suddenly, he found three undead Leviathans corpses raining down from the sky over him, breaking apart as they fell. As his grouped surround and pretty much engulfed the two brothers, the eldest, Smaug and Durnehviir were unable to see the two, but as more and more fell, more bones filling up the crater, more bones of those once risen again, becoming lifeless once more, They all had a clear view.

Alduin and Shinryu, despite the shouts being thrown at them, despite the flames, and icicles striking them, were unharmed. They appeared to be knocked around at times, but there was no damage, no visible signs of injury, as they continued to easily dismantle the undead.

The two had learnt a magical power, from extensive testing of thu'ums. The thu'um they had used, was a complete chant, several sentences long, something that had been a grave risk, should they have got it wrong. Thu'ums are meant to be limited to three to four words, what they did was something no other Leviathan dared. And what they gained from it, was the gift of 'Molin Aiues'. Immortal Flight. So long as they were free from the earth, within the sky, even space, nothing could harm them, untill they reconnected to some form of metal, stone or earth. Their bodies were covered in a faint shimmering see-through aura, as they remained in the air.

This was a major drawback for Anachronos. He truly believed his brothers would've been so arrogant with their position that they would never think of trying anything. He expected them to relax, their power to wane, their stomachs to grow. "So, you are ready to be challenged, my brothers…You may have found a way to survive whilst airborn, but my minions of the dead can be brought back over and over again! RETURN DEAD, RETURN!"

With this shout, spewing from his maw, were several streaks of purple mist, rising out, and heading towards the bones of the fallen…and within seconds, the Leviathans were re-animated once again, each of their bones returning to them, even those that were shattered were placed back in position, before they launched themselves upwards once again, into battle.

The forced to live Leviathans kept falling, kept being sent back down, but each time, they returned, more and more wiser to what Alduin and Shinryu's attack plans were each time. The two brothers were finding themselves having to now keep these heaps of dead from trying to catch their wings and limbs, to try and drag them back down to the ground. It was during the struggle, Shinryu noticed something as he struck down another undead. The purple aura that was around the shell, the moment the body failed to keep together, shrunk down into a small orb, and rapidly returned to Anachronos, entering his skin. Shinryu then took another down, and another, notice their auras did the same. Then Anachronos used his shout again, and the purple mist appeared from his maw.

Shinryu quickly added things up, looking to Alduin, after using his tail to smash another undead apart. "Brother! The orbs are the souls of the dead! Somehow our elder has found a way to absorb souls for his own use! That is why these foes keep coming back!"

Alduin looked to Shinryu, and could tell the Leviathan already was brewing a plan. "What do you suggest?"

"Mock him my brother! Mock him with your soul! Remain vigilant, and learn what he knows! Now go, I shall keep most of these, things, occupied!" With that, Shinryu flew straight into several of the dead Leviathans, roaring out, clawing and smashing them, causing others nearby to notice his sudden separation with Alduin, who suddenly dived down towards Anachronos. The dead chose to focus on the one currently entangled with others.

Alduin, meanwhile, had flown down, right close to his elder, before lifting himself, literally flying over Anachronos, then, begun to circle him, laughing at him.

This got his attention. "Alduin! Why do you mock me when you have abandoned our youngest like a coward?"

"Because you cower down here whilst your minions do your work! Where is the prideful heir of Nozdormu gone? Where has his spirit fled to, whilst mine and Shinryu's remain strong?"

"You are not strong!"

"So long as my spirit is, I will always be strong brother! Strong enough to defeat you, strong enough to look down on you and laugh at what the eldest has become! Strong enough, to look down in shame, at the killer of our MOTHER!"

He hit the right nerve, as Anachronos suddenly snapped. Quickly focusing right on Alduin. "Then I'll tear out that spirit and claim it for my own! SOUL LEECH EAT!" with that, firing out of his mouth, was an dark purple energy force in the shape of his head, it's maw opening, as it headed towards Alduin, who quickly managed to dodge it. The head disappearing as it missed it's mark.

Alduin flew there for several seconds, then looked down, glaring. "So, that is the shout you have made…"

Anachronos aimed once again, not listening to his younger brother. "This time you're mine!"

"I do not think so. Your shout is impressive-"

"SOUL LEECH EAT!" Anachronos yelled again, firing the dark purple head image once more.

"-Allow me to learn such a gift! SHOUT DEVOUR REMEMBER!"

As the energy got close, Alduin mouth opened, and flowing out of it, a whirling black wind, shaped like a funnel, leading straight into the throat of the world eater, leading the purple energy image of Anachronos's head in, and right down the neck of the black Leviathan, the funnel soon dispersing afterwards, as Alduin licked his scaled lips, tasting what he had just received, a mocking manner, as while he did this, the information, the thoughts needed to create the shout Anachronos used, quickly flowed into his mind.

"What, What have you just done brother!? What shout have you created!?" Anachronos took a few steps back, he didn't like the fact his shout was so easily overcome and…swallowed.

"It was one Shinryu had taught me, one that I have now used, to learn one of your own…allow me to prove it!" He spun round, looking to the battle above, as Shinryu was desperately trying to keep the dead off himself. "SOUL LEECH SUFFER!"

What came from him, was a purple image of his own head, shooting out, maw open, towards several of the damned, and managed to catch one, it's mouth closed shut on a purple orb, out of the aura that surround the skeleton, and as it returned to Alduin with it's prize, the soul's body, the bones, simply fell apart, and this time, it would be the last.

The head returned, and went into Alduin, giving him the soul, and the moment it connected, he felt that Leviathan's power, flow into him, making him feel stronger, more mightier then before…and felt content, his belly feasted on the soul, drawing it's power…it felt good. He chuckled darkly, before looking at Anachronos. "I could get used to this."

Before the oldest could do anything more, Shinryu broke his battle with the dead, diving down, and literally ramming into Anachronos, knocking him down and pinning him, as Alduin then flew up to the undead, and joined battle with them now…and one by one, consumed their essence.

Durnehviir noticed the sudden turn of the battle, and whilst flying there, was ready to move in towards the crater and assist Anachronos. "This battle will be lost if we do not assist! I will summon more undead for our master!"

As he began his approach though, Smaug flew in right of him, blocking his path, his golden eyes looking right into Durnehviirs green ones. "And what 'master' do you serve?"

"Smaug?!"

"Let us abandon Anachronos. He will not succeed. They are clever, he is blind. They have adapted, they have shouts that he does not, and what shouts he has learned from you, and for himself, can easily be taken by them. His defeat is inevitable. Better to save face now, would you not agree? Perhaps we will be rewarded for doing so…"

"Anachronos has promised you worlds for your loyalty. Are you saying you will give up that prize?"

"I am willing, if it means we live on and gain another opportunity for worlds. As I said, they may reward us. Don't let your shared history with Anachronos about learning the ways of necromancy before this day cloud your thoughts."

Durnehviir looked past him for a moment, and between the wings of Smaug rising up and down, he saw Shinryu and Anachronos struggle, Shinryu clawing and biting, pinning down his brother as much as possible, despite his kin slashing at his back, his limbs having a longer reach, yet struggling to pull his younger brother off. Every time Anachronos managed to flip over and pin Shinryu into the pile of bones, Shinryu would bite into a limb, and suddenly flip things back over, with him on top again, mouth, the jagged teeth, as strong as diamond, and as sharp as blades, his teeth crushing the plated scales of the elder with ease, into the soft flesh beneath, black blood spewing out.

The leviathan focused back on Smaug, and agreed. "…Very well. We shall stand down."

Anachronos continued his attempts to outfight his younger sibling, but the biggest problem was the fact Shinryu was, indeed, smaller, but his hide was rock solid, steel-like, whilst it took only a few claws swipes or a bite for Shinryu to piece his scales, Anachronos needed claw several times over, and bite in the same place a few times, just to finally break through. And with Shinryu's size, it was tougher to hold him down, to actually keep him in place, he was swift, and flexible, managing to even swerve between the legs of his elder with ease, before twisting his tail round one limb, and grabbing another with his hands and shoving him over.

Shinryu showed he was smart. It truly showed here. Anachronos was trying to attack anywhere, but Shinryu, he was being precise. He aimed for the limbs and wings only. Anachronos only began to notice when he legs and claws grew weak from blood loss and wounds, and his wings were in pain every time he unfolded them to try and intimidate Shinryu, yet his chest, neck, tail…everything else, was fine. Shinryu continued his assault, all the while bones of Leviathans continued to rain down on them.

Alduin continued to feast, continued to consume the souls that dared to oppose him in the sky. Each time he used the shout, each time a new soul would return to him, soon, there were but only a handful left of the undead to fight him, and it wasn't long before it was no more then three, then two…and finally, the last soul was harvested, and taken to its new home, in the stomach of the world eater.

Alduin gave a mighty roar of victory, making Anachronos momentarily look up, and notice his army was gone. He decided retreat was the best course of action, quickly trying to shove Shinryu aside, and use his wings.

But Shinryu waited for him to turn his back and try to leave. As soon as Anachronos opened his wings, Shinryu flew at him, and grabbed onto a wing with both claws, and forcing his brother to the ground, with sickening snaps coming from the now shattered wing.

Anachronos tried desperately to use his other wing, whilst trying to get Shinryu off, but then, he felt his remaining wing becoming pinned down and broken, by the sheer weight of Alduin, who had literally landed on top of it, causing the eldest to screech out in pain.

They didn't stop there, Alduin and Shinryu both, simultaneously, begun ripping and biting at the flesh and bone that connected the wings to their brothers body, using their mouths and claws like savage beasts, tearing at his body, digging in as they tugged and pulled, eventually, both with a final yank, taking the wings off, out of the joints they were once connected to, the black blood spraying out from the torn flesh points of where the wings once were.

The heir of Nozdormu tried to ignore the pain, and still tried to leave with his life intact, intending to climb down the mountain, find a place to hide…but the damage Shinryu did now revealed itself, as both Shinryu and Alduin momentarily watched their weakened brother try to escape the crater, with severely damaged muscles and blood loss…

He simply slid back down, his limbs giving way. He quickly looked up to his allies for assistance, something his two brothers noticed, and looked to them as well.

Durnehviir and Smaug responded by lowering their heads, to avert their gaze from the two brothers, a signal of submission…that was the death note, for Anachronos. He was alone now.

His two brothers lunged forward, and simply begun to bite at him, claw at him, eat him…they feasted, ripping through his scales, tearing out the flesh, enjoying the warm, living meal…they made sure to avoid Anachronos' vital organs, they wanted him to experience the utter defeat, to his very last, breath of life. They even went so far as to burn over the holes made from the tearing of the wings to stop the blood loss, and even did the same when they tore his limbs off. Just to make it last.

By the end of it, once he had fallen still, his body ceased all movements, they stopped eating. Anachronos had fallen, they both put their teeth around his neck, and lifted the mostly devoured carcass up, showing most of his insides were now gone, his ribcage mostly visible, as was his spine, and begun to fly the corpse over the edge of their crater, and with a combined effort, swung the corpse, and let go, allowing it to plummet down to the bottom of their mountain, emitting a double roar of victory, as the body fell.

Durnehviir and Smaug did not keep their eyes off it, as it smashed down the mountain, spinning and colliding several times on the side of the rocks.

The Dis felt the death of the eldest within their minds. They felt his essence weaken, they heard in the depths, the body as it tumbled. Nozdormu felt it, he felt his son perish, and looking up to the sky above, cried out.

There was little now, that could oppose the brothers.

Several months on, there lay the body of Anachronos, rotting on the barren, black ash ground next to the mountain, the corpse having hardly decayed any further since the day he fell. It was now the dead of night, and Alduin and Shinryu have departed their nest for now, heading to other worlds, mostly for their own amusement.

Landing near the fallen body, was Durnehviir, and Smaug. Both were ordered here, told to come here, by the Dis.

Smaug was uncertain as to why, but they claimed Anachronos let lived. His soul had lingered on within the remaining flesh. Smaug laughed at them, but Durnehviir was much more convinced for it to be true. According to the Dis, it will be confirmed by his eyes. As when he returned to this world, they felt something else from him, something that even Durnehviir had never noticed. They said it was a energy force unlike any other, and it was the reason his necromancy seemed to be much more superior then Durnehviir's.

They gave it a name, one that Durnehviir mentioned, once he went over to the corpse, and noticed that what they said would be, is true…his eyes were open, they were still intact…and they still had that mysterious purple tint in them.

"…He has the marking as they said…Eternal Sorrow…the curse of the Multiverse. A gift both powerful and yet, terrifying."

"Then his soul is still within him?" Smaug asked.

"Yes…and as agreed, we shall divide it, to stop Alduin and Shinryu from finding him again. This shell is too damaged, he lacks the power to restore himself, but cannot leave it." Durnehviir looked to his comrade. "Unless we force a part of him out."

Smaug looked to the mountain side nearby, and went over, clawing at the stones, smashing aside with his brute strength. "Ah, they were right. I can now smell it…STONE STEEL REMOVE!" with that, a blue wave of energy erupted from his mouth, at the damaged surface he had created.

Within several moments, silvery liquid came out of the cracks, pouring down to the ground, forming a puddle, slowly getting larger and larger as Smaug kept his mouth open, focusing on what he was after within the rocks. Metal. The minerals within. The Dis told him that the mountain Shinryu owns had much of it, and it was what he needed. His shout melts the minerals into a liquefied state, to slid out of the stone.

Once he believed there was enough, he focused on the now much larger puddle, and used the shout 'Fire Hand Forge.', emitting an exhale of blue flames, engulfing the liquid minerals.

This was Smaugs own created shouts, in order to control the minerals he seeks, and to forge them into whatever he so desired. After plenty of years of practice, it was now as easy as sleeping for him to do, as the metal transformed into a round silver orb, the size of a human head, it's weight was much more then it appeared though, as he had compressed the minerals together to make it so small.

"It is ready, Durnehviir. Do it." Smaug looked over to the necromancer Leviathan, who focused on Anachronos' body now.

"Anachronos. I hope you can hear me. We will take you from this place, and one day, you shall return to the realm of the living. TEAR SOUL DEVOUR!"

Anachronos' body shuddered, before a black, purple covered aura orb, floated out of it, a version of soul Durnehviir has never seen before. Then, the orb shattered, one half of the fragments dropping back into the body, the other half, floating towards Durnehviir, who opened his mouth, and gently closed it shut around the fragments.

After, he went over to the silver object that Smaug had created, and bent his head right down close to it, his mouth almost touching the now cold metal. "Return Dead, Return…"

He opened his mouth slowly, and three small black streaks of mist formed, coming out, and entering the metal object. Durnehviir lifted his head, once the last part of the mist had made its passage…the half of Anachronos' soul, was stored safely.

The Leviathan turned his attention back to Smaug. "It is yours now. Protect it like your greatest treasures. It's value is beyond measure."

Smaug nodded, understanding, stepping over towards the steel orb, and opening his mouth, taking it in, and swallowing it.

Leviathans, the kind that Smaug, Durnehviir and Alduin were, had four stomachs, two were pretty much storage for long term, should food run scarce. Crushed bones and toughened hide was the most common thing stored in these, though Smaug found them especially useful for carrying the liquid metals around, taking them back to whatever world he currently stayed at. Often he would make several trips between a dead world he used to live on, to a new world, never leaving his precious gems and ore behind, leading him to constantly regurgitating everything he carried at each new place.

Now with the orb in one of those stomachs, Smaug helped Durnehviir to lift the corpse, and fly out to the ocean. Once they felt the presence of the Dis, they dropped the body, allowing it to splash into the sea, and sink into the depths.

They got a reply from the beings of the depths after a moment. "We will handle the body, we shall leave it to one of our kind, who has willingly chosen to stay behind in this Universe. He will depart to a barren world that still has great depths of water, carrying the body of the eldest child. We will soon depart, and go to the Universe that we know as 19, well away from the direct influence of Alduin and Shinryu…we will not return."

Durnehviir tried to question them. To find out why now, they wanted to leave. There was no answer. They had ceased their words.

By the next rising of the moon, they were gone. Only one other knew of their parting. Nozdormu. He watched as they left his world, he knew that nearly everything belonged to his children now. Like them, he knew that his time here had passed, and looked to the Nexus, faintly seen in the starry sky…

He left, heading towards it, looking for the comfort of his lover, no longer wishing to watch, having little to stay behind for…his children, ruled this Multiverse now.

God had failed him.

* * *

The departure of Nozdormu, of the Dis, and the death of Anachronos was the trigger point to a darker era in this cycle. The hunting and gathering of tribute increased tenfold, the slaughtering of life upon worlds was beyond count.

And it was all to celebrate.

Celebrate Shinryu and Alduin, who both took the departure of their father and those who gave their family the knowledge to speak, as a sign. A sign that they were now, in no doubt, the true gods, the absolute masters of the Multiverse, with no equal. As Shinryu explained this to a gathering of subjects, he announced himself as true god, and Alduin as his second, who was content with the position. All Leviathans bowed to them, and chanted over and over to their master "THE CONQUEROR! THE GOD DRAGON! THE CONQUEROR! THE GOD DRAGON!"

This new spurt of confidence led to the much faster decline of worlds. Within a hundred thousand years, several universes were now void of all life. Nothing could oppose the rule of the two brothers, their servants relished in the feasts and constant tributes, enjoying their boasting and gifts they brought. Few tried to oppose them, none of them lived to try again.

The good times slowly faded though. The Leviathans found themselves soon fighting more so over worlds then ever before. Several at once would find themselves coming to the same planet and battling untill all of them bar one fled, or died. As many more years passed, groups of Leviathans formed together to pay shared tribute to their gods, and work together to drive off rivals. This was now due to the fact there was only six known universes that held life.

They were pushing everything, including themselves, to the brink.

But things began to change. During one of their flights, Shinryu and Alduin encountered something they never saw before, on one of the still life-filled worlds.

A giant, magnificent owl, a Leviathan they have never seen before, flying through the sky, a faint, golden white aura covered it as it flew. It's aura set them both on alert. It was expressing fearsome amounts of power, something that they felt was only their right to do.

They tried to attack it, use shouts against it. The owl easily dodged, confirming it must've known the tongue, the voice. It even retaliated, blasting them with white, massive energy beams, with no shout coming from the animal, the energy smacking into Alduin, sending him crashing down into the ground, as Shinryu managed to avoid several being sent at him.

Yet once the owl stopped attacking and continued it's flight, it gave Shinryu pause, making him stop and allowing it to escape, he waited for Alduin to finally resume flight and return to his side. He looked to his brother, and something came to mind that he had forgotten about for quite some time.

The Dis claimed they saw god. And it had that same aura.

When they returned to their new nest, where there father once lived, Shinryu and Alduin became deeply angered by this. They could not deny that there was a god. It was no mere chance they found a Leviathan who could easily match them, and toppled someone like Alduin in one strike, sending him down.

They weren't going to allow god to try and usurp them. They firmly believed that was the only reason he had suddenly appeared to them, to show them their weakness, and his power. He planned to conquer them. They decided to strike first.

All tributes stopped. All gifts ceased. Feuds between Leviathans for worlds were made to end. 'Only hunt when you need to eat.' was the rule laid down. Instead, all Leviathans were to work together, and actively search for the golden white aura covered owl. Chase him across the Multiverse if they had to. Attack him at every opportunity, and bring his decapitated head to their god.

This done more harm then good, in the long run for Shinryu and Alduin.

Although this slowed the doomsday they were originally bringing to themselves, and even made the Leviathans come together, many of them grew curious, as time went on, as to why Shinryu and Alduin, their gods, would become alarmed and wary of one being.

This also alerted Azrael to the state of the Multiverse, what the two Leviathans had put it through, and how life has been choking to death, thanks to them. He decided it was time to start again. It was time to use his power to trigger the great erasure. Start a new cycle, try again.

But it took time for him to focus such a destructive and multiversal ending force, and with the Leviathans hounding him, his struggled to focus on it. The hope of a new beginning, came from the arrival of several Leviathans, all coming in peace, and wishing to know if he was god. The leader of this group, was named Paarthurnax. He demanded proof, and Azrael provided it, showing his vast power, easily winning him and the others over, and told them of his mission, his goal to make a new start, a new cycle, and if they helped him, they would be made into his subjects, and given high positions in the next cycle.

He told them to go to those they felt would be supportive of such, of a new chance, and bring them to him. And once there was enough, they would plan their decisive strike to end this cycle.

Paarthurnax was a known subject of Alduin, and once held the black Leviathan in high regard. This was known to most Leviathans, and thus, he earned respect from words alone, and it did not take much to convince those he visited, to join the rise. If he was confident they can handle Shinryu and Alduin long enough, then there must be a chance, the others thought.

But it wasn't enough. They needed another that held great respect. One vital Leviathan who could rally many of them to Azraels cause.

And it was by fate, that he came to Azrael at the time of need.

Ronaallo, the great apprentice of Shinryu, had decided to fight in order to restart the Multiverse, with him on their side, many more Leviathans flocked to Azrael to learn of the future that could await them.

Shinryu and Alduin were alarmed by the sudden increase of numbers dropping down in their ranks. They were assuming Azrael had slain many of their kind, and told the others to try and stick together, so if an encounter with the giant owl occurred, they had a better chance.

A year later, they finally found out where those numbers went.

After all these years, the final hours of this cycle, had come.

Over seven thousand Leviathans, led by Ronaallo, led the attack on Universe 8, where Shinryu and Alduin were. He led the likes of Babylon, Giratina, the Bahamut clan and Smaug, who once again defected from the two brothers, when Azrael promised him a wealth of minerals.

They all flew right to the home planet, to where the two brothers lived. Unfortunately, as they expected, they would not pass by all the worlds undetected, and found that on their arrival, many Leviathans had overtaken them, and joined up with the brothers for a final stand, most of it was led by Neltharion and Sin, and more were coming from the sky to assist them.

This was the major attention seeking Azrael needed to keep the forces of the two brothers off his back. Their entire force was focused on taking out this sudden major rebellion being seemingly led by Ronaallo.

All he had to watch over him, as he hid in Universe 1, on his own gigantic mountain, on a barren, forsaken world due to a previous feasting from the Leviathans, was twenty of the beings, led by Paarthurnax. They were to fight off anything that tried to reach Azrael at this critical time, as he sat there on the mountain, his wings covering over him, as he began to glow a faint white, which would progressively grow stronger as time went on.

Eventually, as two whole painstaking days passed, as the sun set on the third day, Azrael, no longer being seen by the Leviathans around him due to the constant blinding white light, began to crystallise from his talons, upwards over his entire body, which turned into a teal colour as he transformed, the light from him beginning to die down, and turn golden, showing his now crystal state.

The battle over at the homeworld of the brothers was reaching a climax at this precise time. The world was littered with the giant bodies of the beings that either once served the brethren, or died in their service. The numbers Ronaallo once brought, had been diminished down to a few hundred. Babylon had fled the battle, suffering severe critical wounds over his huge body, the Bahamut clan had been diminished, from once holding a proud number of twenty two, there was no more then six of them.

For Shinryu and Alduin, they were throwing away their people to end this feud. More of theirs perished compared to what the rebels had lost, and yet more and more of their minions rushed to their aid. During this third day, the two brothers had finally entered the fray, and with their gift of being immortal whilst airborn, they managed to toppled whoever dared to face them directly.

One now though, was proving his worth against them, after yet another member of the Bahamut clan fell from the mountain, killed by Alduin. Ronaallo, using his own unique powers and shouts, forced several other Leviathans once loyal to the brothers to turn against them, and all join in with his duel against Alduin, turning the odds. This led to Shinryu coming down and joining the battle, facing Ronaallo directly, while Alduin dealt with those who turned their backs on them.

Back over in Universe 1, Paarthurnax sensed a presence finally coming his and the other Leviathans way.

It was one they all did not expect, as they saw him grace the sky, roaring out over the land.

Nozdormu, the one they all now just knew as Akatosh, had come, wings unfurled, teeth baring, eyes sharp and focused, looking at the crystal body of Azrael. Right away four of the guarding Leviathans fly up into the air, towards their claimed 'Leviathan God', to try and stop him, as he appeared to be aiming for the great owl.

He bellowed to them "CONQUER LIFE SPIRIT VANQUISHER!"

It was like a net, casting out from his maw, wide as it was long, showing within it's middle, a black space, filled with stars, glittering as it approached, and when it passed through the four Leviathans…they had vanished, seemingly erased from existence, leaving no body behind.

The other Leviathans bar Paarthurnax launched themselves at Nozdormu, attempting to slow him down, delay him as much as they could. But they were nothing to him, not with the shout he wielded. In small groups, they would vanish, the black energy simply going over them, making them disappear entirely.

Soon, all what was left, was Paarthurnax, who had decided to move closer to Azrael, to stand in front of him, as Nozdormu landed before them, standing twice as tall as the last protector of Azrael. "Paarthurnax. I have known you since you were a but another number to my children's ranks. You know better then to stand before me. Move aside, and let me end this god."

"If you know me, my lord Akatosh, then you know I will not allow your children to continue their slaughter. Soon, there will be no food but ourselves, no life to sustain us. Things must change, by force."

"I do condemn the damage my children have done. I do know that they are leading us to self-destruction. But, this is our Multiverse. This is our existence. I will not allow that to change. We are the greatest, and to doom us to oblivion in such a manner is no way for our kind to die. We will decide when it is time, not this, creature you protect!"

Paarthurnax reared his head up, looking at Nozdormu with pure confidence. "I will not allow you to reach Azrael! Shed my wings, break my horns, scar my body, but so long as I draw breath, I will stop you Akatosh! Your children must fall! The cycle must end!"

"Azrael…so that is his name…I see he has your loyalty completely. Then, do not worry about your wings, your horns and your body. With my shout, it will be over quickly! CONQUER, LIFE SPIRIT VANQUISHER!"

Paarthurnax knew he could not defend himself from this, he saw all the others at least try in some way or form, but nothing helped. He watched as the starry void drew close, and waited with baited breath for oblivion.

….It didn't come.

He suddenly found a golden energy dome, covering himself and Azrael, emitting from the crystallized giant owl itself, stopping the shout in its tracks, making it fade away. Nozdormu started stepping back, noticing the dome slowly getting larger and larger, as Azrael, begun opening his wings, his face slowly looking up towards the sky, his eye shut.

Paarthurnaxs brief words with Nozdormu gave the god the perfect time needed to finish the gathering of his power, and as his wings were fully opened, his head risen upwards, his eyes opened, producing a bright golden light from them, the dome shattering, as a golden wave blasted out of him, making him vanish from view of the two Leviathans…who were only there mere moments, before they too, disappeared within the light.

Soon, the world disappeared into the golden light, as it rapidly expanded across entire galaxies, engulfing the stars, the planets, moons, everything. Nothing escaped the sheer force that was spreading from Universe to Universe.

Eventually, it came to Universe 8, and as Alduin pinned down Ronaallo, the light appeared in the sky of their world, causing Alduins attention to be drawn away, enough for the twisted Leviathan to push Alduin aside, and attack his once master, Shinryu, both locking their talons with one another, as their world faded into the light.

The light had soon engulfed the entire Multiverse. All creatures that had survived to this point, had found their bodies disintegrated, their souls silenced and put into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The Multiverse was under Azrael's total control again, and he knew this time, that he had to watch over things more carefully. He would correct himself, in the 2nd cycle.

* * *

Although, not, all souls were taken by the light.

Alduin, Shinryu and Nozdormu were protected from it, they felt guiding hands shield them from the power of Azrael, something had stopped him from taking them…

And as the light faded, the new worlds appeared, there, within the depths of space, the Nexus had returned, unchanged, as it, and it's nineteen other selves, begun their endless journey across space, once again…

* * *

1. Leviathans. The characters they are based from are as follows, so you can get a decent image of who they are:

Nozdormu, Soridormi, Anachronos and Neltharion are all from the World of Warcraft. Nozdormu's other name that was given to him, Akatosh, is from the Elder Scrolls.

Alduin, Paarthurnax and Durnehviir are all also from the Elder Scrolls, Skyrim. Most of the 'other Leviathans' that can fly are from this series' dragons.

The Dis are the Leviathans from the Mass Effect series, named 'Dis' after the Leviathan of Dis from that very series.

Smaug is from the Hobbit, based on the movie edition, which I like due to the fact his pretty much the same species type as the Elder Scrolls dragons.

The Bahamuts, Shinryu and Sin, are all from the Final Fantasy series. Shinryu is especially based off his Dissidia form.

Giratina is from the Pokemon Series.

And finally, Babylon, is from the Disgaea series, mainly the spin-off 'Makai Kingdom'.

2. The 'Thu'um' or 'Shouts' is a power that's from the Elder Scrolls. It plays a major role in the Multiverse in the cycles that are to come.

3. The Nexus is from the Star Trek series.


	3. The 2nd Cycle

The second cycle began.

Azrael allowed the previous worlds to return, but changed the creatures, and the plants…all to do with the new idea he had. The new blueprint that would soon shape everything.

He sent out the seeds…of man.

Deployed across the Multiverse, man was small, little creatures like the rest…but soon, they grew…they changed, into creatures that could create, adapt, understand and thrive, unlike all creatures before them…and soon…mankind was made.

He watched them carefully on certain planets, entertained with the way they acted with their environments…and was surprised that they had learnt how to make fire…even though he did not program them to…he smiled in content once again, they were doing what he wanted.

For a time, it was good…

Soon though, as mankind across the Multiverse took shape, and begun to make mud huts and such, Azrael felt sadness from these people…to their dead. They begun to mourn over the dead, and he felt they needed comfort in knowing that their ancestors would be taken to a paradise beyond the Multiverse…

That's when he first met Death, who came to him as he called out for a being that could bring them peace. He seemed to fail to remember it was Death that gave him his name. Still, he asked the bone man to help the mortals, to give them a sense of something beyond death, and Death, created the Farplanes, the land of the afterlife. To each universe had it's own…the sadness still existed, but soon man felt an understanding that, those around them that fell, found peace…

Azrael knew as well, unlike last time, he needed eyes and ears across the Multiverse. He needed a group that was his loyal guardians, his warriors, his advisors. He chose to create the angels of the Multiverse. He wanted to base them off mankind's form, to keep them undetected to those new creatures. He wanted to make them from powerful souls, beings that he had seen before.

He decided to test with just one, a raw, new soul formed by him, into an angel, see what would appear.

It wasn't what he expected. A strange, dark, twisting power formed out of his own as he cast it across from himself, and from that strange power, a humanoid figure had been created, a female, humanoid figure, of beauty which Azrael, despite being a giant owl, came to fall in love with.

She named herself Ronni. His first angel. With her by his side, he tried to create another angel, but with each one he formed, they quickly faded away. Ronni told him she was unique, that it would not happen again. He needed to fall back on his previous idea.

With that, from the souls of Forty Leviathans he had kept close to him after the first cycle, he formed from each one, an angel. He felt these specific souls deserved their rightful reward, and all bar one, seemed to accept it, they were aware, as he allowed them to be, before they lost all their memories of their former life for this new one.

The odd one out, was Paarthurnax. He told Azrael to choose another soul to be his 40th angel, for he will not be that. He calmly asked to have his original body back, to keep his old memories, and to live his life in silence and isolation.

The words of Akatosh were, to him, fresh in his mind. He had essentially doomed the entire Leviathan race. He felt undeserving of peace by simply forgetting who he was, and becoming an angel. Azrael respected his decision, and with a wave of his wing, Paarthurnax returned to existence, his body restored. He thanked god, and swiftly departed, wishing to be left alone in his own thoughts.

Azrael soon begun to think about allowing the humans to know he existed…he knew he should not just go down to a planet and reveal himself, so instead, after creating a second form for himself, one more akin to humans, he chose Ronni for be a carrier for his child, a direct connection between him and the mortals. He created a unique human, to bridge the gap. This human, would have the knowledge, and also the powers of his god, the latter part sealed inside him for when the time came to show his race…

For now, he was sealed into a garden of bliss on one planet, in the northern tip, within Universe 8, where there was no ice, but warmth and light…White, pearly gates lead into this garden…the man had suddenly appeared inside it, sitting besides a small tree in the centre of the garden…as he woke a full adult, he knew of what he was, and his purpose…he looked to the blue skies to try and speak to his god, asking to know how long he must wait, as he was immortal…

But there was no reply, instead, around him, life appeared, animals in many shapes and forms appeared, giant deer, lions, tigers, bears, sheep, goats, pigs, many creatures appeared and gave the man comfort.

And for a time, it was good…

But the man, over the many, many years of confinement, soon lost comfort in the garden, not one of the beings within gave him anymore comfort…all he did now, was either look to the gates in sadness, or watch the tree grow higher and higher…it had enlarged itself over the millions of years of his prison, reaching higher, and higher into the sky…filled with leaves and life…none he could reach. He could not climb the tree, to see the outside world…he wept, and wept, at his fate, to be forever be stuck in this place easily mistaken for a image of heaven, when it was to him, hell.

But he was not alone…he had someone watching him for a few thousand years now…an angel. As the man cried, the angel appeared behind him, standing on the smooth green grass, as the man was leaning against the tree with his arms, looking at it as his tears fell.

The angel asked if there was a problem, the man quickly turned, and explained his despair to the angel, telling him of his confinement in this place, and that all he wanted was freedom, just a little freedom.

The angel sat down, and the man sat near him. The angel asked why he wanted to leave this paradise made for him, created for him by the one god. the angel always believed in Azrael, and never set foot near the garden, as it would be wrong for them to possibly influence the man. but he had to, something told him inside, that this wasn't right.

He felt, long ago, he fought against a repression before, one that would've led to his doom.

"I cannot stand it anymore. I did not mind at first, but after so many moons and suns, I can't stand living without another, angel…it pains me, I have nothing to speak to that can understand my needs. I need another. Another human. My god does not answer me, nor does he grant me what I want, instead all I get is the brightness of the day, and the warmth of the sun. Oh angel! I need freedom! I need to see the world! I need to be human!"

The man was speaking in a new language, a tongue that would become the common tongue of most species of the later cycles. This language was created to make sure the voice, the words of the Leviathans was forgotten.

The angel knew what purpose Azrael had for the man, but…he felt pity for him. No one deserves this, no matter who they are or their purpose. the angel felt a need to challenge his god, for what he was doing. The angel stood up, and led the man to the gates, and with one mighty push, forced them open, shocking the man.

The angel turned to the man and said "I would want the same as you, friend. I would not stand of this either. Go now…to the southeast there is a tribal settlement…filled with humans. By powers above, they refused to come up to this place, but now you're free, you can go and see for yourself. But remember, once you leave, I will have to close the gates again, and you cannot return."

The man nodded. "Angel, I owe you my freedom and life, from now on, forever more. But will our god not be angry with this? Will he not cast you down?"

"Our god, will not know. I will create a false human in your place for now. You can be sure that only I will know of what has happened here. I know my way around these things."

The man shook hands gratefully with the angel, and for the first time, stepped out of the gates, and they begun to close. Once they shut behind him, he turned around and looked at the angel. Who stayed behind, looking at the man behind the bars. "What is your name, heavenly angel?"

"….Q. that's it. What about you? Do you have a name?"

The man thought hard. A question he had never been asked, never been given the chance, but, inside him, he knew of the answer "…a name…I have never made one for myself in all these years…but, in my dreams, a…woman, formed of blue shining crystals, kept giving me a name, and she sounded so fond of it…"

The man looked into the angels eyes and said "What she called me, is what my name is. And that, is Lysander."

The man set off, to places unknown to him…but he was happy now.

* * *

He found the tribe, and had made his first friends there…and soon, he begun to help them change their lifestyle, his vast, infinite knowledge helped them change their lives in so many ways that they could not have imagined. At first, it scared them, horrified them, but eventually they saw that Lysander meant no harm, and was trying to benefit them…

And for a time, it was good…

As years passed by, Lysander, now free from his chains, was unlocking his powers…he granted immortality to some of his friends, healed the sick, created stone walls, even brought the rain…

His powers and knowledge made humanity thrive on the planet…and in three thousand years, huts were replaced with sky scrapers, spears were replaced with guns, birds were replaced with planes, the ground was replaced with concrete pavements…

Azrael did not look twice at these unique humans, who were moving far more quicker then other planets. He did not care. he felt relaxed with the multiverse. to him, it was just how he wanted it, and felt no need to look over it, as long as his angels keep watch for him.

In another thousand years, the first space stations were created by them, and the first starships….they were free from their planet…They were to be the first species to fly into space since the previous cycle, since the time of the Leviathans.

One day, a black helicopter landed a least a mile away from the holy garden, and out from it, came Lysander, wearing a black long coat, closed up, with black shoes and sunglasses, and with him, was another man, wearing a white shirt, with a black jacket, black trousers, shoes and even black tinted glasses, followed him. This other man, an immortal, in fact, the first human Lysander had met in that tribe so long ago, the one person who was not afraid to walk with him to this place. His name, Procurator Humanus. To the people, he was the bodyguard that went everywhere with Lysander. No matter how far, how dangerous, he would be there to support him.

Lysander told the pilot to wait, as he and Procurator Humanus walked back to the prison, staring at the gates. Lysander looked at the tree, which was still full of life, as it reached even higher now. the sun was just starting to set, and a cool breeze was felt, along with the sounds of the creatures within the garden.

Lysander turned to procurator and asked "What do you see friend? what do you see inside there?"

Procurator Humanus cocked his head a little at him, before looking at the gates, then the tree. "I see a paradise, which we'll have ourselves someday. A goal which, we will reach, and relish. One day we will find a world precisely like this, and make it our own, our own little paradise."

Lysander sighed, then looked to the gates again. "Procurator, I trust you with everything I know…including what I am about to tell you. This is where I came from, this, hell you see before you. One that I was trapped in for so long, longer then I have spent outside it."

Procurator Humanus looked at Lysander in slight surprise. "And you chose to leave it? Why? why walk away from this, dream land? No sane man would leave."

"Because I was not, free. Our god Azrael trapped me here. I turned on him and left, I could not stand it anymore. I would rather face the hellish world you all had experienced before I came, then rather remain in there."

"You turned against our god? But...but your powers! Your gift! Surely it was from him! He is the one. You should never defy him! He is the maker of life, the gifted one, the one that allowed mankind to exist!"

"I had to. If I did not, I would of gone insane in there Procurator. I had to leave. If I did not leave, all this would not of happened. I would not have been able to grant you this life now. This world would have gotten to this point without me turning against Azrael."

"I see…" Procurator then just stared to the gates…Lysander had no more desire to be here, a simple look at the place and nothing more was what he had desired, and chose to leave.

As he began to walk away, he noticed his friend not moving, and turned to look at him. "Procurator? Aren't you coming?"

Procurator did not look at his friend, he remained focused on the gates. "I need…a little time to think. Lysander. What you just told me is going to take, a little while to settle in. I will contact the chopper to pick me up when I am ready."

As Lysander left, an hour of silence passed…Procurator felt anger towards his friend. He was a powerful believer of Azrael, and saw him as the ultimate being, the one you must obey and respect. He was baffled as to why his friend was allowed to be loose for so long if he had disobeyed…and decided to meet his god directly.

He looked at the gates again, harder then before…this paradise was under Azraels care, surely he would know of someone got in…he walked up to the gates, and touched them…his warm fingers gripped the icy cold metal, and that very moment he touched it, seemed to alert the skies…and soon, a dark cloud formed over above the garden, lightning flashing from it, rain began to pour down over Procurator, the winds howled, threatening to make him fall to the ground. He backed away slightly, in awe at the sudden appearance, and found himself falling back, landing on the ground, staring up at the clouds. His glasses had been blown off, bouncing off across the ground, forcing Procurator to squint in order to just see through the rush of rain.

Then, a loud, bellowing voice came from the storm, after yet more lightning flashed before Procurator. "**Who dares attempt to enter the forbidden land?"**

Procurator Humanus knew right away as to who was speaking to him, his mind told him. Stunned that his god had actually come before him, he pushed himself forward, onto his hands and knees, and bowed to the dark clouds above, and shouted everything of Lysander, and what he claims, to make sure his god heard him through the storm. "AZRAEL! FATHER OF CREATION! A MAN OF UNMEASURABLE POWER HAD COME TO MY PEOPLE FROM A SEEMINGLY UNKNOWN LAND! HE CAME TO MY PEOPLE, TAUGHT US SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGY BEYOND FIRE AND SPEARS! HE HAS BROUGHT US TO THE POINT THAT WE CAN NOW SEEK LIFE BEYOND OUR WORLD! BUT TODAY, HE HAD REVEALED THE TRUTH OF HIS ORIGINS! HE CAME FROM YOUR GARDEN O'LORD! HE ESCAPED IT! HE TURNED AGAINST YOU!"

Procurator slowly raised his head, to look up as much as he could. "BUT I WILL NOT FOLLOW A MAN WHO TURNS HIS BACK TO OUR CREATOR! I AM YOUR LOYAL SERVANT LORD! I ALWAYS WILL BE, NO MATTER WHAT! LET HIM BE CAST INTO OBLIVION FOR ALL I CARE, SO LONG AS THE MAN WHO FLED FROM YOUR GARDENS IS PUNISHED!"

The sky was filled with an angry cry…the paradise garden had turned dead, the animals inside fell to the ground, no more. The false man within that Q had created, quickly decayed and dissolved into nothing. The tree grew in width, swallowing up the garden whole, making all traces of it vanish, including the gates…all what was left, was the tree itself, now at a monstrous size, all of it's leaves turning brown and dropping off…all but one green leaf, all this, much to Procurator's surprise.

Then for him, as he looked to the sky once more, the last word he heard from his god was, "**Come.**", before lightning shot down...and he vanished, leaving behind only his glasses, which were badly damaged, one glass piece shattered, as they finally came to a stop, the winds dieing down.

The black cloud grew in size itself, as it moved away from the dead paradise, and heading to the capital city of this planet, this planet that was now named by humans, Beyondard…

* * *

As the cloud passed other cities, lightning rained down on them, destroying the buildings that man worked so hard to create, killing innocents, those that followed Lysander, wiping out the life that had carved itself.

No city defence effected the cloud, all weapons were useless…the people turned to Lysander for help, and he responded.

He walked outside the capital city, into a grassland near it, and saw the cloud approaching…and recognized it…the cloud came to a stop above Lysander.

From inside it, a voice shouted down "**Why have you betrayed me?**** I am your creator, your master, your blood. You are my connection to these people, and yet they are now far more distant from me then even those that do not know of my existence.**"

The man replied to his god, no fear within his voice "Because I wanted to be free from that prison you made! Why did you trapped me there?! Why was I alone?!"

As the god was about to speak…people with weapons, the army of the city, came out, keeping behind Lysander, ready to assist him. As far as they knew, this was an alien invasion.

Azrael was angered even more. "**Because I knew that you was not ready, that humanity was not ready…and now look what they have become…****They blindly follow you, believing in you, when their faith should belong to me. ****I must stop this.**" his fury formed into a lightning bolt, flung down from the sky, at Lysander.

Lysander raised his hands upwards to the bolt…and it was deflected, scattering into smaller ones, flowing to his followers…killing hundreds of them that stood with him. He heard their screams of terror and pain as they desperately tried to avoid the wave of deadly sparks spreading, hoping that they could escape. By the time the electric wave ended, his followers have retreated far back, looking to their fallen, horrified, frightened…he too looked horrified at them, and for a moment, there was silence...before he then looked at the cloud with fresh fury.

Azrael knew know that something had gone terribly wrong. That should've removed Lysander, but the man had unleashed his powers…and was able to fight back, to fight his god.

Azrael knew now, he could not harm Lysander. As for Lysander right now, he raised his hands to the sky, to the dark cloud before him. "You have no feeling for us! Because of what we've become! Isn't this what you wanted Azrael!? ISN'T IT!?"

There was silence…

"Then fine….if it isn't, then these people are no longer yours!"

Across Beyondard….the people changed, screaming and in agony during their transformation…their skin pigment changed, from once a variety of colours to different shades of blue now, their hair, pale white, their eyes bright yellow, now that of serpents, with black tattoos over most of their bodies, symbolising their skills, their abilities, their gifts.

They were changed, and no longer human. Once they had recovered from the ordeal, they were all stunned to see what they had become, yet, they felt it was right, a feeling that was brought on them by Lysander, to calm their nerves.

"I have changed them Azrael! I will call them something of my own! No longer this, mankind you so wanted to be your slaves! They are Oni! And they are MY people!"

Azrael roared out, his cry of rage shook across the planet, and slowly, he left the planet…no doubt to return one day to remove Lysander…Azrael would fail with a direct confrontation, but he knew there was a way…The same trick that ended the Leviathans reign. It was his only option to stop Lysander from influencing any further. This cycle needed to end prematurely.

Lysander knew of this gift of Azraels though, the great erasure. Unlike Shinryu and Alduin and the rest of the Leviathans, he had a chance, some time. So he decided, it was time for them to move on, to seek a new home that would be their own, a Universe to bend to their own whim. Lysander knew he had the power to stop Azrael's erasure…but if he did it on this planet, Azrael would no doubt do it again and again, and Lysander wasn't sure if he could hold off more then one massive wave of energy.

He knew they had to run. They had to escape to somewhere else. Try to hide from Azrael for him to presume they were erased. He also knew, he was limited on time. He knows the erasure power does not take long to charge. No more then three days.

So while his people built starships, cargo vessels and additional starbases, Lysander chased Azrael. He confronted the god and his angels over and over, knowing Azrael will not fight but flee to find another place to prepare the erasure…and after so many years, the now named Oni, were ready to leave. 250 years after the man had turned from his god, Lysander and his people, left Beyondard, into the dark realms of the Universe, seeking for homes to call their own. They had created a rift station, which opened a pathway to another Universe, their only hope…Universe 1.

Azrael, as the Oni all managed to get through and enter their new home, at this time, decided to erase the mistakes, and start once again.

To the Oni, after several tense minutes, they saw a glow of a thousand suns come all around their ships. Panic straight away settled in, but thankfully Lysander reassured them, as he knew of what was happening, and did what Azrael did not expect at all.

He created a counter barrier, and stopped his people from being erased from time and space. A bubble of normal existence formed around them all, as the Multiverse was swallowed up by the glowing light, their buildings, technology, starbases all left behind, gone in a flash.

This constant barrier left Lysander in a sub-conscious state. He sat down on one of the bridges of the Oni vessels, and kept his eyes closed, arms outstretched, hands open, his entire being focused on their survival. So long as he remained like this, the barrier would not falter.

Now it became a waiting game…one which would last over the span of a hundred thousand years. The erasure would not simply fade within days, no, it took a long time to end, but again, Lysander knew this was coming, and made sure the Oni found ways to make themselves self sufficient and able to survive this long period of time, trapped into a sphere, where there was nothing but death awaiting them beyond it.

They endured it, they kept their strength and faith in him. They connected their ships, grew their food, rationed their supplies, keep their community stable. They made sure not to be over-populated, even forcing a ban on sexual activity on dozens of occasions, and even killed groups of young if the situation got out of hand, so long as Lysander was there, they knew all they needed to do, was survive to see the new cycle.

And indeed, they survived.

One day, the golden light faded, the tales of their great ancestors foretold had finally occurred, the council they had formed over the time, gathered on the sacred ship as they called it, where Lysander had stayed. The consoles of the bridge had long since been shut off, but in the first time since for over ninety thousand years, the systems were switched back on as they entered the place.

They all stood there, eagerly waiting. And to their sheer amazement, Lysander woke from his slumber, slowly standing up, causing them all to fall to their hands and knees, proclaiming that their god has returned to them, to lead them to a new hope, a new home.

He looked to them, happy, and relieved they made it. "My children. Thank you. I know it has been harsh, but indeed, I can know lead you to a new home. Azrael has not defeated us, he had not broken the spirit of the Oni. We shall prove to him in the years to come, once we have grown larger, reach new levels, leave a mark in the Multiverse that shall be our legacy!"

He raised his fist upwards in triumph. "Stand tall Oni! This is our time!"

They all stood up by his command, and cheered.

The third cycle, had begun.


	4. The 3rd Cycle

As the third cycle started, there was already an advanced race, ready to find themselves a home…the Oni…and Azrael could do nothing about it now. Lysander did not know that each time the erasure is used, Azrael is suffers from a power drain, an exhaustion that he cannot recover from for several hundred years. The angels, noticing their god was outwitted, asked him to spare Lysander and the Oni for now, not to feud over them by causing the erasure each time, for Lysander can easily block it each time…a stand off that neither could truly win.

For a time, it was good…

The Oni found new planets, far, far away from where they came from, empty of man, and began a new civilisation. The first proper alliance of planets was formed soon after.

For Lysander, he felt despair. He realized now, that his people were outcasts to what he was, all humanity would see them as traitors, especially as the cycle was anew, Azrael could easily control the new humanity.

For millions and millions of years, as Lysander expected, there was nothing to be heard of the new mankind. Time was needed for them, and during that time, the Oni had begun moving to other planets, created new homes for themselves, new technology, new ideas…by the time mankind across the Multiverse took to space, the Oni had created a grand, magnificent empire, almost expanding over the entirety of Universe 1, consisting of over 16,000 planets, and over 11,230 star systems.

Lysander had made the Oni peaceful, and spoke of unity to them with the new mankind, the only way to settle things, to show that they were not outcasts, that no matter what they followed, they could co-exist. The Multiverse was large enough.

First contact was made, and as he wanted, peace followed between the sides. Lysander noticed humanity was thinking for itself, and rarely claimed they were acting in the name of Azrael, and treated the Oni with respect. Trade routes were soon created, exchange of technology and supplies.

The Oni learnt that this was but one human empire in the Multiverse…there were many more, waiting for them, and Lysander told his people to create dimensional warp gates, to the other universes, to quicken the speed between them, including a gate back to his original universe.

Soon, contact to all the other empires was made, and peace was made with them all, as they were in awe of the superior technology of the Oni, and how willing they were to work with humanity. And soon, thanks to the Oni and their offerings of complete peace, all of these empires folded together into one, that called themselves the Imperial Union of Planets.

For a time, it was good…

The Oni soon began to feel as the outcasts, as this Imperial Union continued to grow. Lysander suggested it was time for them to mix themselves in, and become a part of this peaceful force. It was going to be the greatest feat in history, to mix the two separate races of humanity into one…

And the Imperial Union of Planets, denied them.

As fast as they were rejected, trade routes between the Oni and the IUP were stopped and severed, Oni ships were forced to turn back into their territory, and many Oni were sent back to their planets in prison ships.

Lysander was shocked at this sudden movement, and sent many diplomats to find out why they had been rejected. It turns out that they were seen as "too alien" to be a member of the IUP, and have no place in it.

Lysander was angered, and personally went to the prime court of the IUP in the same universe as where the Oni had held a stable ground in, the same one that Lysander was first born in, Universe 8. He told them that his people were as human as the rest of them. There was little difference within, despite the appearance outside.

…They laughed at him, mocked him, refusing to believe it. His anger grew, and he shouted that he could prove it, by returning to his home of Beyondard, and removing the tree, to reveal his home, the garden, which the IUP had heard of as legends from unknown sources, or as Lysander knew, the angels had said of it…

They refused to allow his kind to step onto Beyondard, which they had classed as holy ground, if Lysander dared to continue this mad idea, they were willing to destroy the Oni. All of the IUP would declare war on them.

Lysander was determined, and told them that if they have to try and stop them, then they should do it.

The IUP responded with complete, total bombardments to every Oni world from Universe 20 to Universe 2. It was a synchronised strike across the Universes, and all with the intent of nothing surviving on all the worlds. Countless Oni were killed, their founded homes, ruined, burnt to the ground. The starbases they owned, blasted into debris before they could defend themselves, their ships eliminated, be it warships, cargo vessels or civilian transports. Nothing was allowed to survive, no Oni was allowed mercy.

Lysander retaliated, the destruction only fuelling his hate for mankind, as well as the Oni's. The dimensional warp gates to the other Universes were still left open, thus, the entire Oni force of Universe 1 advanced outwards, in every direction, attacking each Universe with their grand army and superior technology, as the element of surprise was now lost for the IUP.

While this was occurring, Lysander himself formed up a massive fleet to move from Universe 1 to 8. He was going to that damned 'holy planet', one bloody way or another, and set the fleet through the dimensional warp gate, leading to the universe which carried his birth planet, the original Beyondard, while many other warships of the Oni continued their counter-attack, pushing against any and all defensive blockades of the IUP that tried to stop the Oni from entering other Universes.

Many more IUP warships had blocked the route to Beyondard, but the Oni, with their greater technology, had removed the first wave of ships, destroying them with little to no trouble, making many other blockade units think twice, and give in, often moving away as the Oni fleet slowly moved on towards Beyondard.

Across the Multiverse, the Oni scored victories against the defence of the IUP, who struggled against the powerful ships their enemy commanded. They quickly attempted to find new upgrades, new ways to fight the menace.

As Lysander's army got closer to Beyondard, he had received messages from many of the IUP leaders, warning him that they had deployed their finest forces here, and to turn himself and his kind back the way they came, and if they don't, they will be destroyed, they will be hunted, that they won't be even safe in their Universe.

He refused to listen, and soon, the Oni fleet entered orbit of Beyondard, and the first seven ships begun the landing sequence…there was silence on both sides, as the ships slowly landed onto the holy ground…everyone waited…Lysander, with several Oni, walked out of his ship, and looked around…

He looked to the skies, as dark clouds begun to cover it. Across Beyondard, it was all the same, the bright sunny sky vanished by a blanket of darkness…Lysander soon heard the sounds of thunder….and looked back to the land, as his army marched forth from the ships, with more of his vessels flying through the black clouds, landing on the ground where he was made from….and in the distance, he saw the humans of the planet, ready to welcome him, wearing hulking white armour, covering them from head to foot, a least a hundred thousand men and women, with rifles, lasers, shotguns, machine guns, anything and everything they could get…

Lysander raised his hand upwards, and his men charged, with only vibro-swords and spears…the Oni believed firmly in the art of close combat, compared to humanity, which had chosen the way of the gun…but it didn't matter, more ships were on the way, and the Oni were determined…a billion of them may die, the soil may be covered in their blood, but not just theirs…mankind's blood, will join it…this planet, his home planet…

The Thunder flowed through the dark sky…

On the ground below, a tidal wave of Oni, wearing only trousers and iron boots, with slight armour segments attached to them, carrying spears, swords, twin blades, claws, anything that held to their code, lead by officers which wore black masks over their mouths, with two small steel tusks coming out of it, and leather armour, their hair all but shaved off, to show their rank compared to their brothers and sisters, charged, with all their might, running and screaming towards their enemy, that slowly came towards them..

Mankind.

The Humans showed discipline in it's ranks, slowly marching forward, completely covered in head to foot in holy white coloured heavy armour, with many different logos to signify who was in what squads. This set of defence that mankind wore was called the Power Armour.

The Power Armour is the peak of humanity's technology, which was mostly burrowed from the Oni. It's designed to function with electronic power flowing through it constantly via a backpack carried, crammed with micro fusion cells. This power keeps the suit in an active state, activating a system of small gravity deducing palettes over the suit, making the user feel as if the suit is as light as regular clothing, thus not hindering the persons speed or effectiveness in combat. It also has a system which can be connected to specific teams or squads, designed to warn the rest of the team if the person is wounded, or dieing or even dead.

The men and women saw the Oni blindly charging like animals toward them, and with one shout heard across the ranks, the first few rows of this well armed army, pointed their weapons towards the Oni, and opened fire, realising a rain of energy bullets, steel bullets, shotgun pellets and even rockets, to the Oni lines, smashing down the already chaotic ranks of the Oni, their screams of pain heard over the claps of thunder.

But it didn't stop them, the Oni continued their charge, the death of their allies did not faze them from their goal, their mission.. The troops of humanity simply continued to fire, knowing that sooner or later, these monsters would stop.

But they didn't. already, additional ships came through the skies belonging to the Oni, landing at where the others had, and begun to pour out more of the beings for the slaughter, as the first wave was rapidly losing numbers. Lysander knew of what would happen, and with his powers, he had made sure as many men as he could possibly need would be able to arrive, either suddenly disabling warships that had tried to get in their path to the planet, or even destroying them.

The humans at the front stopped firing, and moved back in the ranks, allowing a new group to take the lead, and use their weapons, as the first were busy reloading. The weapons would cut through the Oni like they were nothing, but it was the charge, the way they relentlessly kept moving…then, several Oni reached the front lines…

…and were gunned down before they could strike with their inferior idea of weapons, their blood washing the ground, but their deaths made the ranks of man stop, realizing that, even in this hail of steel and energy, the Oni were able to get close…

And this struck fear in them. As even as they stood in one position, to wear the Oni ranks out, swapping with each reload, the Oni were often able to get close, making a few of the people at first take a step back…and soon, an Oni sword had sliced through the Power Armour of one trooper, the first one of their kind to spill their blood…and then another, and another…and soon, man began to move backwards, noticing that, not only have they been using up nearly all of their ammo reserves, but it seemed like they hadn't even slowed down the swarm before them.

But their were determined not to run, to not turn their backs. And they didn't, as soon waves of Oni charged into their ranks, forcing them to use their additional pistols or swords to fight back. The ranks of this proud group, that had their sights on stopping the Oni before they could even begin, were broken. Soon their numbers fell, and their blood mixed with those of the Oni.

The Oni did not cheer in their victory, but instead charged on, seeing that nearby, more of mankind waited for them, weapons ready, and once again, had opened fire…

In the end, one side had to buckle.

* * *

fifteen years and five months had passed since the great war had begun…

The Multiverse was now in a constant state of deadlock war. While the Oni were almost masters of the space battles, their ground forces were lacking, which humanity were dangerously advanced with. It was a war going by world for world, each one an epic struggle between the sides, until either man won it back and advanced on an Oni dominated world, or vice versa, sometimes going back and forth between two worlds, destroying their landscapes, eating any possible supplies, draining all the resources dry, and eventually, losing those worlds due to inhabitability by the war.

The lives lost for all this was beyond anything the Leviathans ever did. At first it was just the massive already trained military forces of both sides, but soon, the Oni, with their advanced technology, allowed for cloning, increasing their numbers constantly to level out the sheer loss achieved in the ground assaults, while humanity force-drafted any and all able citizens, men and women alike, across the nineteen universes, the minimal age limit being eighteen years.

People were willing to join the war against the Oni without question though. The reports, biased to their favour, spoke of the Oni evil deeds, their brutal mission to destroy all of mankind without sparing anyone. The more the Oni was heard of, the more people that joined. Eventually, one of the IUP leaders, by the name of Odin Hikari, spoke these words, that would remain in the hearts of every man, woman and child willing to fight the demons.

"We are Humans, the children of Azrael. We carry the honour of his name on our shoulders as our fathers did before. The great remembrance, speaks to us of the evil in the Oni's will, of the reasons for their banishment, and their rightful punishment by our creator. The Multiverse is our destiny and our right, not theirs. Life is its gift to us. By the name of its founder we must fight, fight and protect that which is unique among all. The darkest nightmare awaits us against them... but we are the guardians of life, the sole hope, for the Multiverse."

Near the northern tip of the main reason of this war, Beyondard of Universe 8, if you were to be in space at the time, you would notice 4 circles going around the very tip of the north, each one, at least 200 miles apart, with the first one being right close to the great tree, the very one that covered the garden in which Lysander came from.

This was humanity's defences against the Oni, should they be able to get so far. Each one were huge iron walls, behind them, barracks, artillery guns, anti air missile silos, armouries, factories for tanks and mechs… there were just fortresses which would circle round and join up. Each line of defence had a name, simple enough to recall, from furthest to closest to the tree, 3rd line, 2nd line, 1st line and final line.

At the 3rd line, there was someone sitting at the top of the iron wall, with a folded chair, his helmet nearby, smoking, and looking at the land beyond, as a flash of lightning goes by up above. Next to him, was a wireless radio, playing some old music to him. The time was, according to his watch on his power armour, was 8:30 in the evening, with the sky the way it is, it was hard to tell the time. He had already told the troops under his command to tuck in for the night, with only five others besides himself on watch duty, on the direct south wall, sector 9. (each direction on the compass, north, south, north-east, west so on and so fourth, to these walls were divided into 40 sections each, so that specific groups of parties only need to monitor their spot knowing that others were watching the rest, instead of being made to watch the entire length, which was at least to this guy, longer then any desert his walked in.)

_'I don't want to set the world, on, fire._

_I just want to start, a flame in your heart…_

_in my heart I have but one, desire._

_And that one is you, no other will do…._

_I've lost all ambition, for worldly acclaim._

_I just want to be the one you love…_

_and with your admission, that you feel the same,_

_I'll have reached the goal I'm dreaming of…'_

The man sighed in annoyance at the song that was playing. This was the third time it's played while his been up here. Ever since the DJ who ran the station on Beyondard vanished, they've seen to have kept to certain tracks. He mumbled with an Irish accent. "Fucking station, I swear when this stupid war comes to an end I'll file a goddamn complaint to the place.."

This man was dirty looking, and was once white, with grey, medium stroked back hair, with a slightly long goatee, and brown eyes. He appeared to be in his 40's at least, and was average in height for a human at his age. His name was Colin Moriarty, and was the Captain of the "Moriarty's Saloon Gang.", as they called themselves based of his previous job years before becoming active in the army. He carried a plasma rifle, designed to unleash a hot ball of green plasma and melt down any unlucky bastard that crosses his path.

He continued to listen to the song "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire.", as he heard someone else come up the long set of stairs to the top of wall, and walking over, putting out a folded chair of their own, and sitting down. The person removed his helmet, put it down on the ground, got himself a cigarette out, and begun to smoke. This guy looked older then Colin, into his late 50's, but just as dirty, his hair, white and scruffy looking, and wearing a green beret on his head, under that helmet, a more full on beard then Colin and had green eyes.

This Guy was another Captain, William "Bill" Overbeck, Bill to every person he knows, was head of the "Crimson hand." with his squad having to mix in with Colin's as ordered by the commanders at the final line. At first he felt he wouldn't get along with Colin and his team, but after these weeks, it's like they've been best buddies for life. He carries around a drum magazine shotgun, with the name embedded into it's wooden handle after serving him for his 40 years in the army, "The Terrible Shotgun.". on his power armour, was a long, now sealed up, cut on the chest piece, and a small part of his left shoulder armour had been sliced off. He had clashed with the Oni previous, a few small terrorists groups like they always got, like humans, and knew what they were capable after several close calls.

Colin looked at him. "So Bill, a little late up here this evening hm?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah well, Francis wouldn't stop complaining about one of our new guys in my team, Tristan. Can't blame him, the guy's dangerous with a simple pistol. nearly shot himself in the leg the dumb schmuck."

Colin gave a chuckle, as they both looked out to the land beyond, as the music played. "I take it he already hates the guy like everything else?"

"Francis would hate his old grandmother if he had the chance to know her. Heh."

"Heh…so, how's the other not so new one? The one that joined you when you first came her, whassa name, Zoey?"

Bill looked at Colin, and thought about things for a moment. "Well, she's gotten really good lately, for a young'un. Knows how to use a pistol and deliver headshots in the training room, and seems rather effective with a laser rifle. She's still a tad reckless though, and can't seem to get used to crapping in the power armour. What about that Reddin girl on yours?"

"She's loves wasting ammo, that's all I can say about her. She'll unload a whole magazine or power cell on one single target in the training, which is worrying, but eh, you can't win them all."

Bill gave him a smile. "Nope, you can't. but she'll be useful when the time comes son. They always are." He returned to looking at the barren land before them. "So…how much longer do you think we'll be waiting at this place? Before we get any action against those blue bastards?"

"Dunno, but I'm getting sick of this. I mean, sure, defence is all that and good, but after awhile, you wish they would assign you to a spot where death is possible, I mean, with all this artillery we got, they won't even get a chance to touch the wall."

Then they heard a new voice from behind them, one they knew quite well belonged to Francis, who had just got up the stairs, wearing his full power armour, and even bringing up his Minigun. "Hey ladies, anything new going on?"

Bill sighed and looked at him. "Nothing yet Francis. Looks like another night of your gun not getting any blood."

Francis sighed in annoyance. "I hate defence."

Colin nodded. "Don't we all."

* * *

Four weeks later.

"I hate checking places out."

Colin and the others sighed, at Francis, as he was being his normal self once again.

Right now, they were standing in the middle of a small town, which was fortified with small iron walls and turrets, and was occupied by at least a thousand troopers, as a waypoint to a main stronghold, and the 3rd line defence.

Or, so to say, it was.

Around the place, there were bodies of Oni and Humans, there was a battle here, and it seemed the humans had lost it, as all communication had ceased about a day ago, normally this wasn't anything new, but the last thing reported was about 'monsters' helping the Oni, a mixed group of 30 men and women from both Bills and Colins group have been sent to see if there is any recordings or any survivors to explain what they meant, or even just to see if they can find these monsters that the defenders said of.

Twenty eight of them were in the middle of the town, while two were waiting just outside it, near the carrier helicopter which they used to get here, guarding it, so if a swarm of Oni came that way, at least they could inform the others they were fucked as their only way out was about to be overrun.

Within the twenty eight, there was Bill, his medical guy Louis, Francis and his rookie Zoey. Colin was there as well, with his own rookie Reddin. All the others were mere troopers within both their ranks that Colin and Bill could hardly remember.

Francis, as already noted, hates things, everything to be correct, from Oni to mankind, he hates them all. His was a simple biker back before the war on Beyondard, and as far as his concerned, his enjoying his new role in the army, carrying a kickass Minigun to mow down other people, and without being arrested for it…to him, that's all he needs. He was in his early 30's, had most of his brown hair shaven off, had a goatee, brown eyes and tattoos all over his arms and neck.

Louis was the, worrying, medical man of Bill's team. Always looking out for everyone, he was once a office worker before the war. He was given the simple basics of being a medic…the only thing he remembers mostly, is that painkillers are the best thing he learnt about, so much so, his now officially addicted to them, often trying to take a few whenever he gets the littlest chance.

Zoey was the young newcomer to Bill's personnel squad. She showed a lot of promise and a decent bit of weapon skills back in the drafting of needed men and women, and Louis approved of her. She's come a long way after these few weeks, and is very able now, and Bill's sure that Louis has been helping her…in and out of the barracks, as he thinks those two have been very close lately.

Reddin is another newcomer girl, but with Colin's squad. She hasn't come so far as Zoey has, and can't seem to help but waste a whole magazine on her energy rifle for one target. She's a little older then Zoey, but acts younger and even like a child, as far as Colin is concerned, but his sure he'll make a woman out of her yet.

There was an air of uneasiness, before Colin decided to suggest something. "Well now, we're just outside the building where the main command post was set up. Francis, why don't you take a few fellas and see what the south wall is like, there should be the main power to the turrets as well, power those babies up so we got a chance if something happens."

Francis looked at Bill, who nodded in agreement. "Alright ladies! Anyone whos got some balls, follow me!" Francis soon begun to walk off into the dark streets, carrying his faithful minigun, with only four other men following him.

Bill looked at Colin. "Hey kid. Do you think the Oni might've destroyed the power?"

"Nah, those poor bastards are too stupid to think of things like that. They probably didn't expect us to check this place out after the slaughter."

"Hmm, well, we should check the spot out. Alright! Most of you guys stay put! Reddin! Louis! Zoey! You people are coming with me and Colin, rest of ya stay here and keep watch for any sneaky little bastards that belong to those blue skinned assholes!"

The men nodded, and the five slowly stepped into a huge towering building. The front door was made of glass, shattered and destroyed, and as they entered, Louis tried a light switch…nothing. The power was dead, so they all activated their light on their helmets, slowly looking around, seeing the bodies of Oni and troopers…they knew of their goal, a floor up, is where the commander should've been, and where their radio and transmission devices were. Thankfully those things can be activated without power, as they had a limited battery life.

Reddin was already beginning to get excited. In the reception area to this place, she was going to every door that was closed, and kicking them open…making everyone else jump a little, and Bill cursing under his breath when he heard her shout "CLEAR!".

Reddin had kicked her 5th door down, when she found the body of the medic of this team. She calmly bent down, and picked up a bottle of pills. And soon enough, someone had seen her pick it up, and walked over. It was Louis. "Hey there Reddin, are those painkillers you got there?"

Reddin looked at the bottle, and nodded. "Yep, from the dead guy here."

"Can I burrow them? My supply is running out and all, and I completely forgot to pack some before we left.."

Bill had heard him and quickly looked over, shouting "DON'T give him the damn pills! Louis! Get your ass over here! I want you to be the point man on heading up the stairs to the first floor! On the double solider!"

Louis sighed in annoyance, but done as what he was told, as Reddin decided to keep the pills for herself. The stairway was thankfully clear, besides four dead Oni bodies, as they headed up to the first floor…

Francis was awe struck…he was staring at the south wall.

Or whats left of it.

The iron wall was smashed wide open, torn asunder. The gates were on the floor, knocked down by something, and Francis was betting it was something bigger then an Oni, unless they now have a magical gift of ripping through some heavy steel.

He noticed the turrets were also battered in, but saw the small building that was the power supply to the entire town, and by the look of that, it had been hardly touched. He was relived at that, and soon told his four men to monitor outside, while he goes in and switches the power back on.

As he entered, he slowly looked around in the darkness, seeing the power generators only a little distance from him…just the several dead bodies of humans and at least 30 of the Oni got him to be a little anxious. He felt something wasn't right, as he activated the light on his helmet, and shouted out "Marco?"

No response. He sighed in relief, and walked towards the generators, looking for the main lever to bring the power back online. He soon found it and switched it to 'ON'. there was a moment of silence, before the generators starting to come to life, and the lights come on in the small building. Francis left it, glad that was easy enough, and went outside, soon seeing the entire town slowly light back up, including the remaining auto turrets on the walls, he nodded to his men that the job was done, and was now thinking of heading back…

He was anyway, before one of his men was seen near the destroyed wall, looking beyond it, and pointing out something in pure panic. Francis slowly walked over, sighing in annoyance, and looked…and saw why the guy was worried.

A large wave of Oni, no doubt that had been staying away quite far off from the town, expected people to arrive, as they were now heading right back towards the town, swords and weapons drawn. Francis cursed under his breath. Sure three or four Oni would be nice, but this many… he soon used the communication device to contact Bill.

The other squad had made it into the first floor, and found the commander and his men…sliced up rather nicely all over the floor, thankfully though, the machines were still intact, and ready to be turned back on. There was a computer as well, connected to the radio and other transmission devices, as Bill expected.

"Alright, Zoey, There should be data disks nearby. I want you to use them in the computer and download all the radio files. It normally saves whatever transmissions and logs made by the commander and some of his troops. The battery life on the computer should hold just about long enough to get what we need." Bill said, looking around carefully at his allies, before the lights suddenly came on in the building.

"Sweet! Looks like Francis got the power back up!" Louis noted, sounding relieved that they didn't have to walk around in the dark anymore. He HATED being spooked, and a place like this was one that would easily freak him out.

Zoey chuckled, as she walked over to the computer's desk, and switched it on, before looking for the data disks. "Ya know what we need right now? Is Francis to call up and say something like the Oni were waiting far out of town and wanted us to get the power back on, so they know that people were back here, and return to try and kill us." Louis had a chuckle with her. "Yeah, that would be the worst possible luck we could have right now wouldn't it?"

Bill raised his hand to make them stay quiet, as he stood still for a moment. "Francis? Whats up?…..". he stood there for a little while, then slowly looked at Zoey, as Francis had just told him the bad news. "understood Francis, retreat back to the main building and wait for us…Zoey, we need you to stay on our team. You seem to have the gift of foreseeing bad luck."

Colin made sure his plasma rifle was loaded. "I take it we have company then?"

"You bet. Alright Louis, Reddin, Colin! On the double! Downstairs! Zoey, stay put and get those data disks filled to the brim!"

They ran for it, heading back into the large reception area. "EVERYONE INSIDE!" Bill bellowed to the troopers, who were still outside the building, waiting. They ran in wondering why he wanted them…and he soon told them, noticing the sudden feeling of fear coming off them. "Now look. We ain't leaving untill we got that data. So we need to hole up here and wait for Zoey. Obviously we haven't got the numbers to deal with a possible large number of Oni, hell those three thousand here before us failed. Francis is on his way back, once he gets here we're holding this area untill Zoey has finished, then making a run for it to the chopper. Now I don't want no 'I'll stay here and kill myself to let everyone else get a chance' crap. Our goal is to survive, plain and simple, ya got that?"

They all nodded, and soon got themselves in position, moving as many tables from the nearby rooms and chairs as possible into the reception area, and putting them all down in front of themselves as a form of some protection, to Bill, it wouldn't stop the Oni, but he knew it gave his men comfort. And soon Francis ran in, with his men, and they quickly got behind the barricade.

Colin waited, holding his rifle close. "Ya think Zoey will take long?"

Bill looked at him through the visor of his helmet, and Colin saw that Bill was expecting her to. These sort of incidents aren't ones that end quickly. "No…At least I hope not. Cos if she's slow, she might find herself the only one running back to the chopper."

Francis prepared his minigun, standing up and aiming it at the front doors. "Everyone, just before we get attacked, I wanna say something! I hate tight situations!"

Bill and Colin just groaned, and stood up themselves, waiting for the Oni. The air was getting tense once again, as they noticed a couple of trooper were shaking, both of them were from Colin's Squad. One of them soon mumbled "H-Hey, it's not like they'll KNOW we're here, will they? I mean, they were just attracted to the power coming back on, maybe they'll just go away.."

Reddin looked at them both. "You fucking serious? I WANT them to come! I wanna blast them, rip them up, kill'em all! Hell yeah!"

"Ease up on the excitement there lass. Focus on where they'll be coming from." Colin warned her.

Soon, the sound of running feet were heard, hundreds of them, like a wave of thunder. Louis decided to express his feel on the situation, as the footsteps drew rapidly close. "Oh shit! SHIT! SHIT! SHITTT! HERE THEY COME!"

And indeed, the first sign of blue skin came, by the dozen…and Francis' minigun unleashed a hail of bullets into the first group, ripping them up, and with him shouting "HELL YEAH!" as the main wave now was running to the building. Bill and Colin both gave the order of open fire, and the troopers unleashed everything they had in their arsenal. Dicing down as many Oni as they could.

Bill was calmly waiting for the right times to fire, as most of the troopers were hitting their targets, some of the Oni got close…Bill made sure they went back with the rest, firing the terrible shotgun as close to their bodies as possible, ripping them pretty much in half, their dark red blood splattering all over his armour and their bodies flying back.

Colin was having as much action, as he was getting headshot after headshot, the plasma rounds burning right through at least four to five heads each, leaving gaping holes of where their face was, as they fall with the rest of their race.

It was, to everyone, like a blur, all they saw is moving blue things, screaming and charging at them, and they were shooting the things away, blasting them open, sending their intestines, guts, heart, skulls, rib cages, everything all over their comrades or the floor…and soon, it ended. One major wave, gone…in it's place, in the reception area, it was filled with bodies, and even the street outside was in the same state. Bill sighed in relief and reloaded his shotgun, as he looked around, and noticed that three of their men were down.

Louis had started to check them, but Bill knew they were dead…one had his head missing where an Oni got lucky and sliced it clean off as he was reloading, another had two spears stabbed into her, and the last one has his left arm missing, and his head embedded with two large knives.

"Bill, I think taking resident outside the building would now be a better option. I'll be honest with ya, I don't wanna be buried up into our necks in corpses in here. At least out there we can keep a clear path to the helicopter and a way for Zoey." Colin said, as he looked at the slaughter they caused, although this was a very minor loss to the Oni. Losing at least a thousand men to twenty-seven and killing three is nothing.

Bill had to agree, and soon ordered everyone outside, on the double once again. The moment they got out there, and look down the south end of the street…more Oni were coming round the corner…that isn't what caught their eyes.

It was the thing that they had with them. Stomping it's way towards them, holding this, large, tree sized club, made of hard stone…it has the same blue skin as the Oni, and even had black tattoos on it's fat stomach and chest, but it was at least 5 meters in height. It wore two huge leather ankle bracers, had black hooves that looked harder then any sort of metal, braces on it's arms made of something's' ribcage and spine, it had a metal chain around it's waist, with a huge brown cloth connected to it, a leather made jacket, with black markings on the back of it, and it's head, it's head was that of a very hairy boar, with HUGE tusks coming out of the side of it's nose, it's eyes were a dull yellow, and it's head was protected with it's metal and leather like armour, covering most of it but it's eyes, tusks, front of the nose and mouth.

And it looked pretty mad.

This was an Oni boar. Created by Lysander as a way to break down the defences of man, and keep to the Oni code of close combat. This monster could rip down iron walls just by ramming into them a few times. Like it did to the defence down south, as Francis VERY quickly added together in this head.

Bill knew this was bad, very very bad… "Holy mother of god…I never believed the words from those guys but…Holy fucking shit…"

"Hey old man, fast suggestions would be nice right about now! Should we try and shoot the bastard or run for our lives?!" Francis wasn't in a mood to wait with that thing coming to them.

Colin decided to make the move. "Louis! Call Zoey and tell her to get out now! Forget the damn data! NOW!"

Louis quickly did so. Zoey was busy just downloading the next lot when he called. "Zoey! ZOEY! YOU GOT TO RUN NOW! RUN OUTSIDE! NOW!" she simply dropped what she was doing, and ran to the door, only to quickly stop, run back and grab her rifle, before running out of the room and down the stairs, heading to the rest of the gang. She shot out of the stairway, running as fast as possible, in her eyes, almost in slow motion, she saw her teammates, bar one, running and some of them firing at something, running up the north road, and the single one running into the building, towards her, most likely to give her support as she gets out, and she was just only halfway through the reception.

She kept going, and noticed the trooper shout something to her, no doubt asking if she was okay, and as both of them went for the exit, they saw the Oni Boar, just coming into view, and one of it's eyes saw them. She skidded to a halt just inside the building with the trooper, who had done so at the same time, and to Zoey's horror, it raised it's huge club…and swung it in their general direction.

To her, the world was a blur and of pure pain, as she felt herself fly back.

"ZOEY NOOO!" Louis screamed out, as he saw the beast smash the entrance and her, and even the first floor in, causing a chunk of it to collapse, sealing the entrance up. Bill saw it to, as he was just firing rounds at the Oni that had ran in front of their large friend, as he stopped for a moment, looking at the damage that thing did…then turned his attention back to the rest.

Their goal now was to get to that carrier and get out of this place. No way in hell they stood any chance against something like that if three thousand couldn't beat it. It felt like the seconds were hours, as every moment, Bill was sure that thing drew closer, and even saw a few of their men slow to make pot shots…only for the beast to get them in a swing…and crush their guts out of their armour with it's club, none of the bullet's affecting it.

Bill then saw it, only a couple of roads down, outside the north gate, there was the carrier, and no doubt, the two guards there had already seen them coming, as they had got the engine started up, with one of them waiting inside the personnel part, looking out for the rest of the squad. Bill then realized something, as he turned his head and saw Francis was near him, surprising him at first that Francis wasn't eager to take on that thing. "FRANCIS! We need to slow the monster and the Oni down! If we get to the chopper with them tailing us, that fat bastard could easily swipe it!"

"Got any ideas then old man?! Would love to hear them right now!"

"Where's that Photon Launcher you always bragged about bringing with you incase we had to clear a landing site!?"

Francis gave him a smirk. "Oh I know where it is. Let me just quickly call the boys at the carrier! Should have it ready for me when we get there!"

"We kinda need it now Francis!"

"Hey! It'll be close call! So!? Live a little Bill!"

Bill then quickly looked behind, and spotted Colin, who was just about keeping up, while trying to watch how far the enemy were away from them, now and then taking a few random shots with his rifle. "Colin! The moment we get to that chopper, everyone in, no time wasted, got it!?"

"Already thought that was the plan anyway! What about the fat thing and it's blue friends?"

"Relax, we got the right tool for the job!" Bill then looked ahead, as they were now halfway down the final road leading out of the city gates. "I hope.."

Colin on the other hand, brewed up his own idea, as they neared the gates, and mumbled to himself. "The emergency closure…these old babies used to have them on the top towers…just one would.." he broke from the group, making a sharp left at first, attracting a few dozen Oni at his sudden change of direction. then heading towards the huge walls, going for one of the metal stairways leading to the two small towers at the top, along with the huge turrets nearby them.

His heart felt like it could burst from his chest right now, he was rushing up those stairs as quickly as possible, soon hearing a trail of footsteps behind him, the Oni no less, as he expected. Once he got to the top of the stairwell and onto the wall, he quickly turned, and aimed his rifle at the actual stairs, and fired several rounds, the plasma burning through the metal steps like nothing, leaving a gap between him, and the chasing Oni, as they reached the steps they could, and noticed the rest were melted. He made a run for the tower, as some of the Oni tried to throw spears at him, just missing.

He got to the metal dark green door of the tower, fired at the lock, melting it, then kicked the door open, running inside, and found the computer console for the turrets, as well as the gate. He knew that the turrets would have a password protection for activation, but the gate closing… he quickly typed in the command "EMERGENCY CLOSE." and right away, alarms were blaring, as the massive iron gates were beginning to rapidly close, as Bill and the rest were just getting through, surprised at the gate closing up behind them, no doubt giving them those seconds to get the hell out of there.

Colin now noticed a problem, he had to get off the wall. He ran back out of the tower, and looked down at the opposite end of the wall, outside the town…it was rather a long way down, and no way on climbing down, and going back the other way was certainly not an option he favoured, with just him against an army of Oni.

He looked to the dark purple storm clouds above, as thunder was seen flashing in the sky, and sighed in annoyance. "I better fucking hope someone's watching me up there, because here I go…things I do for humanity.."

He jumped. This was going to hurt, a lot. Thankfully he didn't have a lot of time to think about that part, as the ground very soon caught up with him, and he hit it sidewards, with a sickening thud, he was shouted in pain, and went right on his back. His entire right side was in agony, and his right arm was killing him right now. His shouting must've alerted someone though, as he soon saw a trooper standing over him, grabbing his left arm and pulling him up, making him continue to shout in pain, as it only got worse. The person made sure Colin was leaning on him, as he begun to drag the guy towards the chopper.

"You should've told me what the hell you were doing Colin before doing a stunt like that! You oughta be thankful you wear that armour cos that fall should've killed you! LOUIS GET OVER HERE!"

It was Bill, and as Colin felt soon grab his right arm, Louis, which didn't help the pain that Colin was sure was making him very light headed and close to falling unconscious, as both of them helped him to the carrier, as it was ready for take off.

Soon they all jumped on, and as it was taking off, they heard something smash into the gate, and saw a large indent in it, before the second bash ripped the gate open, as the Oni boar rammed through, and begun to ran towards them, swinging it's club around in mad fury, but it was too late, the carrier had moved high enough and was already making it's journey back home to the defence line.

Colin was on the floor, groaning in pain, as Louis had taken his helmet off, letting him breathe outside the thing for the moment. "Hey, relax Colin, we'll get you some medical treatment when we get back, okay?"

Colin could just barely nod, as Louis sat back down with Francis, Bill and the rest. They had all begun removing their helmets to recover. Louis was brown, with a bald head and brown eyes. Reddin showed herself to be a pinkish colour, with her hair shaven round the sides of her head, all the way to the top, except the middle, which was dyed red, and long, drooping over the right side. She had dark green eyes.

"Goddamnit! I didn't even get the chance to use my toy! Who votes we push Colin off for spoiling the fun?" Francis said…no one replied, as they noticed Bill had got a cigarette out, lit it, and looked around at them all.

"There's only eighteen of us left in here, and two are piloting this thing…we lost ten good people today, on top of those three thousand that died within that town. We know now that the Oni have tamed some, unknown creature that is capable of ripping through the defences that we felt were unbreakable. We need to report this, and be ready."

He took one long puff, then said to them, in a dark, serious tone "Because they'll be coming for us soon, and if we can't stop them, then nothing on Beyondard will."

* * *

Zoey felt herself being dragged around, her entire body felt like a truck just smashed into her, she could hardly open her eyes. She knew she was still in her armour, but other then that, she had no idea what was going on.

Had the Oni captured her? Were they taking her to be tortured? Used as a slave? Gutted and sliced open just for the fun of it to see a human suffer? Maybe become food for that huge monster she last saw before everything went black? She had no idea, but she was afraid, very afraid.

Untill, that was, she felt herself stop, and was left on the ground, with a male voice going. "Hey, you awake yet? I can't keep moving you up those goddamn stairs by myself."

She gave her best to just simply nod in response. The man replied "Well thank god for that. How bad are you hurtin'? you went flying further then me. I think I got lucky, Landing on some dead bodies."

She murmured out "I'm alive, if that's…anything to go by." she slowly opened her eyes, and saw that she still had her helmet on, and saw the ceiling of a dimly light room. She could hear rain, and saw someone looking at her, that trooper that had come to lead her out of the building. They seemed to be near a wall, as he was leaning against it, her hearing him breathing out of exhaustion.

"We're safe for now, but that damn Oni are still around. Most likely checking out the town to see if there is anyone besides us. They haven't bothered to check this building out after the fat big thing smashed the reception area up nicely."

Zoey tested her arms by moving them slightly. They stung, but they felt like they some strength. She then slowly rolled to her left side, wincing in pain, and then on her stomach. She then begun to slowly push herself up in order to try and stand. "What…what about calling on the communication devices on the first floor for-"

"I already checked that spot out. The cave in took the stuff with it. As far as I can tell, we're pretty much isolated for the moment. I was able to get us to the third floor. Nearest floor that seemed stable enough. I think waiting things out would be…" he stopped, and decided to help her stand up, and lean on the wall. Her legs were wobbly, but she was able to hold herself up. "the best option at the moment, untill those Oni piss off anyway. Then we should see if the others bothered to wait up."

"They won't. if something like that thing was around, they would've retreated. We need to find our own way out of the town and head back to the defence line." Zoey murmured, looking at her armour. It was rather damaged, but not indented as she feared at first. She did notice her rifle and the trooper's rifle were both missing. "…what happened to our guns?"

"Well when I got back up, I found yours smashed up, and mine disappeared under the damned rubble. All we have is our pistols for now…so a shoot up wouldn't be the greatest option in the world."

Zoey sighed, then removed her helmet, tossing it on the floor for the moment. She looked around and noticed they were in an office of the building, the windows nearby, showing the downpour of rain, and the odd flashes of thunder and lightning. Her hair was black, tied into a single ponytail, with peach skin, with a little bit of dirt here and there, and brown eyes. She looked at least 20 or 21. She looked at the trooper. "I'm Zoey, as you probably guessed from Bill saying my name when I was busy sorting out the information."

The trooper took his helmet off and put it on the floor. He had short dark brown hair, with stubble all over his chin and sides, green eyes, and had a few small red scars on his forehead. He looked in his 30's. "Name's Nick. I'm one of guys from Moriarty's saloon gang."

"Nice to meet you Nick. Thanks for helping me out." Zoey smiled at him for a moment, before looking back outside…all they could do, was wait.

Soon, they both found themselves sitting down at the wall, with their eyes closed, and resting, getting some sleep before moving out, when Zoey quickly woke up by the sound of a few footsteps, and looked round.

Nick was still near her, asleep, and the room didn't seem like it had been disturbed. She thought it might be the Oni, perhaps they found a way in or something. She slowly stood up, waking Nick up, as she grabbed her pistol and got it ready, looking around in the darkness…

Zoey stopped. It's dark.

The lights had been switched off. She looked outside, and saw the entire town was dark again. There was no power at all.

Nick also noticed, and stood up, getting his helmet on and switching on the small light on it. Zoey knew it was the best idea and did the same. "Nick, the town's power is off, that means the Oni might've left."

"Decent of them to close the town down before they went off, wasn't it?" he replied. Then, they heard a few footsteps, and it wasn't coming from downstairs…it sounded like it was coming from above, in the upper floors.

He looked at Zoey. "Got any guesses it's the Oni having a look around?"

She silently nodded, and both of them kept their pistols ready, as they headed to the stairway, leading upwards to the next floor. As they got to it, they heard the footsteps again, still coming from above, and headed to the next floor, when they arrived and open the door leading out of the stairway…there was a mist. A grey, whirling mist, engulfing the corridor.

"I didn't know buildings could contain things like this. Didn't look misty outside." Nick said.

"That's because it isn't…"

Zoey then slowly moved forward, with Nick following, walking into the mist. They couldn't see anything beyond their helmets. The corridor, the floor, it just seemed to vanish from view as they walked. Zoey had a feeling something was waiting for them in this mist, something else the Oni have tamed, and it's most likely hungry for human flesh.

Zoey soon noticed something, the ground, it sounded like soft carpet at first, but now it sounded like…like as if they were walking on dirt. She even tripped over a little on a root from a tree and-

She stopped dead in her tracks, as Nick stopped after tripping over a little as well. She turned and pointed her light down to the ground. It WAS an actual root from a tree, and the ground was brown and covered in dirt. "Nick…are you seeing this?"

"Yep."

"Are we still inside the building?"

"As far as I know Zoey."

"…Let's head back." Zoey then moved past Nick, and headed back the way they came. He followed suit.

The thing was, that as they went, the mist turned from it's grey state, into black..darkness, and the ground was still made of dirt, and what got Zoey, was now things were getting a little clearer, she could see trees. The corridor was gone, completely. She was getting freaked out now, and soon, the trees disappeared from view, as all now Zoey could see, was a road made of concrete before her, and a street of old, rusted buildings, long since abandoned, by the looks of it. Things had now become much clearer. She had to stop and just look. She turned, and saw Nick with her, stopping next to her. Behind them…there was a metal bridge, with a gate blocking it.

"Nick…where are we?"

"I don't know. But whatever it is, we're here now…maybe we'll find the others here. Maybe it's a new way of transporting people to safety….it's a long shot I know. But still. Better to keep our hopes up right?"

Zoey nodded. She took a deep breath, to calm her nerves, then said "…Alright, let's go and see."

They begun to walk on into this new place, as they heard something scared them both…a loud, but distant roar, echoing almost across this, place…

Near the bridge, on a wooden board high up, quite damaged, and had three huge claw marks on it, but just readable, was the words "Welcome to Silent Hill."

* * *

The news of these new beings assisting the Oni was not well received by the higher command. They now knew why such places which had strong defences broke easy, and now feared that the 3rd line defence would suffer the same.

This fear was soon confirmed to be true, as no more the a week after the incident, Colin and Bill had finally clashed with the Oni at the wall. And it was a harsh battle. The Oni's sheer numbers certainly weren't a problem, it was their rather large friends, who took some beating to die. In one day, the captains units had killed twelve of the beasts, four of them were killed before reaching the wall thanks to the wave of artillery hitting them, causing their guts to fly over the Oni, seven who had at least rammed into the wall once, causing large dents, and one successfully ripped through, but was put down before he even got a chance to attack anymore.

The Oni had backed off, but they morning, they would be back. And they did…over and over, each sunrise brought a fresh group of the Oni to the wall, and more to the slaughter, but as each day passed, more and more holes appeared in the wall, more and more damage to the artillery, defence weapons, cannons…everything was taking a beating. After the 9th day of this fighting, To the surprise of Bill and Colin, they wouldn't be there to see the 10th. Instead they were informed by the higher powers that that must withdraw themselves, with Francis going with them to make sure they have a safe journey, to the 1st line of the defence, where they will join with a new squad. As of that day, both of their squads had to be given new commanders.

Colin, Bill and Francis were all on top of the wall, looking at the land beyond, littered with dead bodies…the place was now in a state. Most of the wall was now impossible to stand on, a lot of it had collapsed or been destroyed. Colin looked around slowly, and saw the bodies of dozens of men and women, who had died fighting that battle which was waited on for so long…and now they had to leave to let the rest fight on.

"This is bullshit. We get some action, have some blooded noses, and WE get dragged off to let everyone else here fend for themselves!" Francis said, clearly annoyed with the order.

"Son, we got given it because they feel our leadership is more needed at a more armed sector…of course their saying that these people don't stand a chance, but that's what they want, we can't say no. we just have to do what we're told. And leadership, I mean me and Colin, not you Francis." Bill replied, taking a puff from his cigarette.

"I hate you so much right now old man."

"Is that what they said to ya Bill?" Colin looked over at the old guy. "They said to me that they wanted only the finest to fight at the 1st line. As far as they were concerned, this is the meat shield line."

That's when Reddin and Louis arrived on top of the wall. "You, wanted to see us sir? Before you left?" Louis said, after saluting Bill and Colin. Reddin did the same.

Bill nodded. "Yes…now, because we're leaving, this means someone else will have to take charge of Moriarty's and my squads. Louis, I know you trained well under us, and I think you can do well without me and Francis…you're the head of the Crimson Hand."

Louis nodded, and saluted once again. "…Take care of yourselves Bill, Francis."

Colin looked at Reddin. "I know what your thinking lass. I can't do this. I'm still a rookie. Well, you're a rookie that's got spunk. You're the head of my Saloon gang."

Reddin was eager for that promotion. "Are you serious!? Oh cool! I got my own team now! I mean wow, now we'll kick some ass and…and…" she saw Colin frowning at her. "I-I mean, thank you sir. I'll try to do my best."

As the night passed on, Colin, Bill and Francis soon found themselves on a small transport ship, leaving the 3rd line. Bill looked down to the defence, it's tattered remains and the people they were leaving behind and said "I don't like this. I don't like it one little bit…"

"What's not to like? We get to live a little longer." Colin pointed out.

As the transport ship had moved two dozen miles away, from the cockpit area, the pilot spoke up. "Glad you guys got on just in time. The special package for this area should be arriving shortly. It'll keep those sonnova bitches out of our territory for a loooonnnggg time."

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "What special package?"

"Oh well ya know, the new weapon! High command has had it prepared for something like this. It's from an element called Phazon. We found it quite deep underground on this planet. It's a powerful substance. They were able to make it explosive and capable with our technology. From what I heard from the others, their called Phazon Fission missiles."

Francis smiled at Bill after hearing that. "See Bill? They'll be fine! Those weapons are gonna help them hold the Oni off for us!"

That's when, as Colin looked out a window, he noticed several streaks of smoke, with something creating a blue glow at the end of it…one just flew past them, heading the opposite direction to where they were going. He got quickly worried, and went over to look out the back windows of the transport vessel, as did Bill and Francis, when they saw Colin quickly move. "What the devil is that?" Bill asked, seeing the same thing as Colin.

And they soon knew.

The glowing lights which left a trail of smoke shot upwards near the 3rd line wall, and as the fresh group of Oni had begun their next attack, charging towards the walls…the glowing lights smacked into the ground…and a neon light blue light engulfed the vision of Colin, Bill and Francis.

"H…Holy mother of god…."..is all Bill could come out with.

Mushroom clouds, Neon blue mushroom clouds, a whole line of them, swallowing up where the 3rd defence force was, in orbit, it could be seen, a ring of blue had appeared on the planet, as mankind had unleashed it's new weapon to protect the holy planet…a ring of pure ungodly death, killing the Oni that had tried to attack, and all those people that were left to die without reason, that day was seen as the day that the sky itself was torn open by the sheer power that was unleashed.

Nothing of the 3rd line, had survived. Nothing but those with the most experience, those that were deemed usable by the high command, were taken away from the area, such as Bill, Colin and Francis.

Lysander himself felt the power, as he stood, surrounded by his subjects, looking over the land…he saw it in the far distance, and even felt the pain and deaths of both Humanity and Oni. The light made him realize the power humanity had, and what it was doing to fight against him…they were willing to kill their kind to stop him to taking his homeworld back.

In place of the powerful walls that had stood before, there was almost a river of pure Phazon, the blue liquid oozing and flowing around the newly created ring of pollution, from the river came such strong poison into the air, that as any Oni approach the area, their lungs would fill in an instant, and die.

This was the blockage man had created between them and the Oni now. Even Oni boars could not pass the poison.

Bill now, was sitting down on the ship…his hands over his face, his cigarette on the floor, still burning, as he couldn't speak to Colin or Francis, he was in tears. All of those men and women…those that followed him…

Francis had his hand over his mouth, leaning against the wall quietly.

And Colin remained where he was, looking out the window, at land they were once at, where Reddin was, where his friends, his gang, were…he felt a tear run down his cheek.

* * *

Two days had passed since that, and Lysander himself had finally arrived at the scene of death. His people were close behind him, frightened of what they were seeing before them, the bodies of the Oni that had tried to pass through. Their bodies marked where it was dangerous now, and with this river of poison blocking them, then the alternative would be to fall back to the ships, and risk the chance of the humans using anti air weapons on them.

Lysander walked into the poison, and felt it flow into him…it burned, it was dark, unwelcoming…humanity was using it. Those things he once loved and cared for…they brought this to themselves and their enemies.

He yelled out, screaming as loud as possible, raising his hands to the sky. Humanity needed to learn of his power, needed to learn that they were on HIS soil, not the other way round. This world was his, not Azraels!

And it was as if heaven heard his cry, as his power forced the very ground itself to drink away the Phazon, allowing it to drain deep into the ground, sealed away once more, along with the poison it made, and the earth buried itself over the gap that was once filled with the liquid, allowing passage once more, to the shock and surprise of all the Oni that were watching this moment.

Lysander turned and looked at his people. "I will not allow their weapons to stop us in our mission! They will learn that we will not be beaten! They will be punished for this creation! Onward my people! We shall drive them off this world!"

The Oni cheered, knowing that their leader had once again shown them that they had the greater power, the greater strength.

This was a blow to mankind's plans. They didn't expect the Oni to have anyway of bypassing that element called Phazon without using at least their warships. The defences and weaponry were prepared at the 2nd line as quick as possible. They knew things were only about to get more ugly for them, but their mission was to hold them off, no matter the cost of life.

And in no more then three days pass, when the Oni had come to the new gates between them and their goal. They were motivated more then ever, and even Lysander was watching them from afar once more, making them not wish to fail under their lord's eyes. artillery, turrets, rocket launchers, everything was thrown at them from the 2nd line, but it was only slightly slowing them down. This new boost to their morale had made them continue into the night of the first day, the entire ring of iron wall was covered in Oni forces, it was never ending.

Soon bad news was going everywhere about that wall.

* * *

A month had passed since Colin, Francis and Bill found themselves on the 1st line of defence, and after what they saw. Bill had been quite silent since the incident, not wanting to speak with anyone, not even their new commanding officer, that they had to join up with as high command wanted, the head of 'The Rocky Horrors' and as Colin found out, one of the most known radio DJ's on Beyondard. Threedog.

Threedog was the proud worker of the GNR station on Beyondard. (Galaxy News Radio) before war broke out. He was lucky in the fact his old man was in a good position within the human empire, and got him command of a unit. He was black, with dark brown eyes, normally wearing sunglasses, a dark red bandanna, never his helmet, and had short brown hair and a brown goatee to go with it.

He was right now walking around, checking his team around the area that they belong to, and soon found his three newcomers all near the wall of the barracks that belonged to them, two of them, Bill and Francis sitting down, and Colin leaning against the wall. He had been trying to get to know them better, as he felt a good vibe off them…

He walked over and smiled. "Hey guys, how things been in ol' Threedogs unit for ya?"

Colin looked at him. "It's been the usual. Feeling like the outcasts, remembering the times we had our teams, the bombs killing them off, ya know, the norm…so, got any news about the hell that's going on at the 2nd line?"

Threedog gave a sigh, then leaned on the wall, near the others. "Not anything that's good I'm afraid. Reports have flooded in that their getting mauled pretty heavily by the Oni. The walls are just intact or gone altogether thanks to Oni boars, reinforcements that get deployed from any ships that actually DO get through this fucking funky weather are ruined as fast as they get out of their transports, and I've even heard reports that five sectors have gone silent…meaning the Oni have broken through, and I'm getting the feeling they'll soon wipe out the rest of that line."

Francis looked at him. "So everything's good then."

"There's even reports that the final line is going to deploy more Phazon Fission missiles. Guess where those things are going?"

Colin sighed. "So their even going to try that again. Take out another line, kill everyone there, just for that crap to last a little while before the Oni make it vanish again like before…"

Threedog nodded. "Yep, and when those mean ass Oni get to this line, you can guess it's gonna happen to us too."

Francis stood up, now pissed off. "You know, that ain't fucking right at all man! We risk our lives for this shithole! This supposed holy planet! Why the hell do we get the axe if the Oni get a little pushy!?"

"It's because it's the Oni's leader that wants this planet. It belongs to him. We ain't got any rights to be on it. We're the bad guys." Threedog murmured out, and soon realized it was heard by the three others.

Bill looked at him carefully, before asking "Son, are you suggesting that you favour these Oni bastards?"

"Look, I'm just sayin' what I know. There's been a lot of rumours lately that this planet belonged to Lysander a very long time ago. We're stepping on his property, and he can't stand it anymore. Theres even been stories that the Oni were even humans once that lived on this very planet."

Colin chuckled at the thought of it. "Yeah, those blue mad mother fuckers were once men like us…I've heard some good bullshit in my time, but that one is a cake topper."

Threedog frowned at him. "Listen, just think about it like this, okay? Picture a world once before, so long ago, where there were humans on this planet, led by that Lysander guy. He helped them gain technology, create fire and all that shit, build homes, make cities, ya know, all that good stuff. But the thing is, Lysander was before his own time. He was supposed to wait by the order of our gracious lord from up above for the right time to step out and work with us people, but instead of watching us bang rocks together, he decided to show us the way."

Threedog paused, looking at them, and was thankful they were decent enough to listen in silence. " Well this pissed off our kind lord and he came with force to this planet and planned to destroy every single one of those humans for simply accepting his help. Lysander stood up to that big ol' bully, and what did our lord do? He fucking killed a bunch of those people before Lysander, pissing HIM off in the process. He wanted to prove that all those humans belonged to him, and so with his powers that be, he created the Oni, from those very people, and led them away to a safer place."

Francis decided to ask a question. "Hold it, hold it. You're trying to say Lysander has some magical power to make people into these shit smelling, stupid lookin', blue skinned sonnova bitches?"

"I agree on the shit smelling part, that's for damn sure." Bill mumbled.

Threedog continued. "A lot of people say his some kind of god himself. That he actually was made by our lord above who gifted him with so much power, he wasn't expecting it to be used against him. The point is, we're not fighting an alien race like they make everyone think, we're not fighting monsters…we're fighting humans. They look different sure, they're way of life is different, but their hearts, their tears, their blood, it's all very much the same as you and me. We're fighting humans, in war that's suppose to be against 'aliens'. In my opinion, this war is fucking pointless, we need to leave this planet and let them have it, hell, we got plenty more. All this bloodshed is for a goddamn planet that we think is holy! What's holy about it I ask you? We've just been told it is from the higher up people, and even they only know it from legends and nothing else. No one really knows why it is… especially down here, down in the ranks that risk their lives."

Bill lit a new cigarette, looking at Threedog. " I've only heard rumours of the Holy land from my time in the universe. Something is believed to be under that great tree, something that Lysander and his Oni should never touch, and nor should we."

"I bet whatever's under that tree will show the very proof of what I said. That he came from this planet, and we're invading his property. His come to prove it, and we ain't letting him!…." Threedog went quiet for a moment, then looked at all three of them with a serious look. "And I think we need to help him get there and prove his point."

All three stared at him in silence, there was a moment of tension, of uneasiness…untill Colin spoke up. "Hold the fuckin' phone. Are you seriously suggesting we defect and help the Oni get to the great tree?"

Threedog nodded. "It's either that, or we wait untill the 2nd line gets destroyed, then the Oni get here, then this line gets incinerated, along with us. And before you think you're the first ones I spoke to about it, you're not…I've spoken to a lot of people this past three weeks, all those that were devastated by what happened, and so far, all of them agreed with me. Course not everyone here will, half of my crew would rather die like idiots, but if we get enough of us together, we can help the Oni through and get to that tree before everyone on this planet is wiped off it with Phazon."

Colin then pointed something out. "If we defect and survive, we still gotta break through the final line, and that won't be fucking easy. That thing has tanks, turrets and more men then any of these lines. The walls are supposed to be three times as thick, and the troops themselves are meant to be some of the best around."

"That won't matter. We'll get past that bridge when we get to it, right now we need to start thinking, because I'm betting in a few days, that 2nd line is gonna vanish, and we'll be next."

* * *

Indeed, within a few days, his words came true.

As the night had begun, blue rays of light were seen on the horizon, as once again, humanity had destroyed what it had, with the new power they held, wiping out the survivors that fought for their race, and making yet another river of Phazon in a vain hope of stopping the Oni.

This view of death, from the 1st line wall, convinced Colin, Bill and Francis wholeheartlly to helping Threedog and his plan to end this pointless and mad war between man and Oni. By the following night, plans were put into place in order to effectively defect, stop the artillery from damaging the Oni, stopping any opposes, and opening the gate to the Oni.

Bill knew how to handle the artillery, he told them that the weapons, from what he learnt from the 3rd line, have several dozen power stations all connected together around every sector, and that with a power surge, he could effectively shut every single one of those guns down, frying their power supply. Not only that, but with the power stations off, unlike the radio devices in the small towns and outpost, the ones in the lines were connected to the power supply, thus, they would also achieve radio silence, which would buy them time before the final line knew of anything was about to happen here.

Colin told them that opening the gate wouldn't be a problem, as he knew that simply putting in 'emergency open' on the control panels near the gate would do the trick, as long as no one shoots him down in the process, leading to the issue of those that still believe their fighting the right war.

Threedog had handled that problem easily for his sector. The number of men that accepted his idea outnumbered those that refused it. So the next night, as those that refused were sleeping…they were murdered, as quietly as possible. Threedog had quickly made a report that they were the ones planning to rebel, so that no one would suspicious of their motives. He couldn't do this for all sectors, but instead, simply told them that once the defection starts, point your gun inside the wall, and target your old friends and end them, before they get the chance to end you.

The remaining problems were mechs and tanks, but Colin said that the Oni have those monster boars which will handle that problem once they get inside. And now, they waited…

Reports soon came that the river of Phazon was again gone, and soon, reports of Oni being spotted, two weeks on, were confirmed.

Oni were seen in the far distance, still eager for more death, for more battle, for more honour to their master and lord, Lysander… the commanders of each squad of each sector ordered their men to man the tanks and prepare the artillery cannons to blast the shit out of the Oni.

Once again, thunder flashed within the dark clouds above, as troops screamed out the order to open fire, knowing the Oni were in range…

And there was nothing but pure silence…

There was panic within. Men and women were running around, trying to get the cannons to come online and fire, but they weren't responding, they tried to use the radio's , but no one replied to their calls of sudden despair and distress…instead, there was the first sound of gunfire, but it wasn't to the Oni.

It was a rookie, who had pointed his rifle at his squad commander, and gunned him down, dozens of his fellow troopers stood still in horror, as he yelled out, saying it was time to end the war, ordering his brethren to attack.

A new, brief battle had started that day, humanity was ripping itself apart, as the entire 1st line was now divided into two. Squads that once swore to work together were shattered, tanks opened fire against tanks, sector was fighting sector, Threedog ordered his men to stay within their sector. He knew he had started this, but he didn't feel he needed to finish it for them. They chose to stand up against their fellow men.

It was hours after, that the Oni had gotten only a few miles to the next great wall before them, and confusion had filled their faces, as they noticed smoke, fire, and silence from the other side of it…they knew it was odd when the normal barrage of missiles never came, but this got them freaked out. Did their master attack them before they even got a chance? Did the humans go mad and destroy themselves?

They dared not move in. soon Oni from every direction had arrived, surrounding this next wall as planned, but not one dared to move in. it was all strange to them. Lysander had arrived himself, and moved in front of them all, looking at the walls carefully before them…there was the scent of death, death without the blades of his people…

He sensed a sudden movement, coming from another part of the wall, one of gates at that, and teleported himself with his power, to that area, in front of his people once more, who stayed put, as the gate begun to open..

Walking out, with there weapons holstered, and there hands raised to show they were not prepared to grab any type of gun, was Threedog, Colin, Bill, Francis and all of their crew, along with a few tanks that remained.

Soon, all gates had opened and done the same, all the survivors slowly leaving their wall of safety, to show that they hold no more hostiles to the Oni, much to Lysanders surprise. A group of humans were willing to stop trying to block their path.

He moved further ahead, and soon, he was face to face with Threedog, who had told everyone to stop, slowly raised his hands to his helmet, and took it off, putting it on the floor just as slowly, watching Lysander.

Then they both stood there for a moment, before Threedog spoke. "Name's Threedog. You must be Lysander. We're offering to help you guys out, incase you're wondering why we're not shooting you."

Lysander looked at him carefully, then looked behind at the men that were with Threedog, and those that he could feel that had left the walls. "Are you the voice of all of these men and women?"

Threedog thought about this for a moment, and nodded. "Yeah, I am. We're tired of expecting those damned Phazon nukes to get us, and wanna contribute to the good fight. The fight that will lead you to having your home planet back."

"…You know of what I am, what my people are."

"That's right. And we all here now to help you break down that last wall between you and whatever the hell awaits you at the great tree." Threedog put his hand out for Lysander. "Permission to let us join in with the push, sir?"

Lysander looked at Threedogs hand, then looked at his face…his face showed no signs of lies, no deceit. He had full intentions of helping Lysander, in fact, that was the feeling he got from them all…they were tired of this, of this bloodshed around them…he gave his hand, and shook Threedogs, in acceptance.

* * *

The final line could only wait and wonder.

They had noticed the 1st line had gone silent, but untill they got a single report of what had transpired, their commanders were refusing to fire out more Phazon Fission missiles. Behind there line, stood the great tree, the very thing that led to this bloodshed between the races, and they weren't ready to give it up, if that 1st line was already defeated, they were ready to fight till the last man. Every single man and woman at this line held the strongest loyalty to the IUP, that they would rather commit suicide the get captured or surrender.

For the Oni, the final march begun, in ranks with them, were their new allies, those that refused to accept that this war had any meaning, those that wanted it to end as quickly as possible, and with the Oni being so determined, backing those that are on defence wasn't the option, before them, was Lysander, he wanted to lead them properly now, as the last days were coming to this war…

Behind him, was his officers, his troopers, and Threedog, Colin, Bill and Francis with their squad, all had removed their helmets to show they were separated from their old force, Bill taking this as a chance to chain smoke while walking. All other men and women of humanity had folded into the Oni ranks. Colin was watching Lysander carefully. He had heard rumours that Lysander was suppose to be a dark, horrifying beast of hell, but instead of that, there was this man, a man who looked like he should be on humanity's side of things, not the Oni…

Colin decided to catch up to Lysander, and walked besides him, making the Oni watch him very carefully. "Lysander, not that I want to ruin all this, but the final line, it's got much thicker walls then your huge monster things are used to ya know."

Lysander nodded. "I'll pave the way."

"Oh will you now? And how will you do that then? I take it you have some magical gift?"

Lysander didn't bother to look at him. "I had removed the rivers of Phazon that your people tried to use against us with nothing more then calling to the heavens to listen to me."

"Oh yeah, the heavens are nice and all, but I don't think even they can smash down several dozen layers of pure solid steel."

"Watch."

Colin was impressed, this lunatic really thinks the heavens will do anything against those walls…this was gonna be impressive to watch. He moved back to the others, and said. "Ya sure we backed the winning horse?"

Bill nodded. "They got through all this shit so far, so I doubt the final line is gonna stop them."

After three days of almost endless marching it felt, (Bill was pretty damn exhausted, he weren't as fit as he was back in the old days.) they saw it in the distance…the great tree.

Even with the dark billowing clouds above, it looked beautiful. Once it was dead, but ever since humanity set foot on the planet once again, It was admitting a faded, but white glow, as if stopping the darkness around it from swallowing it. The sky directly above it, was clear, filled with stars, not a single cloud above it's green, bright leaves, as if the power of the planet could not reach it. It looked fresh, filled with life.

Around it, was the steel wall, standing tall, with turrets all over it, ready to protect this light in the darkness. Mankind was not going to let this holy part of the world fall.

Francis looked impressed. "Well I gotta admit, this is the first time I've seen the tree…this is what you want Lysander?"

Lysander shook his head. "It's what is underneath the tree, what it covers, is what I want to show to the world."

Then, they heard the firing of cannons…as the artillery was unleashed, a rain of explosive rounds flew high into the sky, like glowing balls of fiery light, before rain down towards the Oni.

Lysander rose his hand, and all the rounds exploded like fireworks, high in the sky, over and over again, as more came, trying to reach their targets, but not one was, no matter where the Oni were, a powerful force was stopping the weapons from reaching them.

Colin and the others were simply speechless, the Oni were in the same state for a moment, before marching on, as Lysander continued to walk. The others soon followed, still expecting at least one bullet to land and kill, but no, not one had so far, as long as Lysander had that hand raised, nothing was getting through.

The people up on the last wall saw this in horror, and shouted down to their commanders that it was failing, that the wave of fire wasn't effecting the Oni.

The commanders ordered something else.

The Oni soon stopped their marching, as they noticed that the artillery guns ceased. They wondered what was going on for a moment, before the huge gates of the steel wall began to open on all sides…

And out came machines, that Threedog recognised, and knew now, that they were gonna get a serious beating.

Mechs. The first of their kind, known as the Atlas. They were 16 meters and 100 tons of walking humanoid shaped metal, painted all black but their humanoid fists and head, which were painted white, the front of the head was shaped like a skull. 20 tons of it is simply the very armour of this monster, Filled with all kinds of missiles, machine guns and laser weapons, this was reserved for the final line only, to stop the Oni dead in their tracks should all else fail. Every step was felt by all, and it wasn't just one or two mechs, it was nearly over two hundred of them, all coming out of the final line.

The Oni and troopers were starting to back away a little, even Threedog, Colin, Francis and Bill were doing so, but Lysander stood his ground, looking to the machines before him.

He walked towards them, no fear, no worry, as the Atlas approached. One of the machines spotted Lysander, and moved towards him, and when it got close, it lifted it's foot, and brought it down on top of Lysander…

Only to find that it's entire leg is suddenly ripped apart, blasted into fragments, along with the foot. The machine was unbalanced for a moment, before falling backwards, and smashing into the ground. Several of the other Atlas saw this, and looked to what caused it. Lysander stood at the spot where the machine tried to crush him, and hadn't even raised a finger to stop that attack. He simply looked at the device, and made it's leg smash apart.

He looked at another, and it's head suddenly was crushed in, and exploded. The mech stumbled backwards, and soon fell like it's comrade before. Another Atlas pointed it's hand at Lysander, and fired out a huge blue laser, which should've fried the human into nothing but ash. Instead, as the beam fired for a few seconds, the mech itself had suddenly found it's firing arm crushing itself, and then exploding, causing it to stumble sideward's a little, the pilot was frightened and dumbfounded, as the laser had done nothing to Lysander at all, even though it appeared to be a direct hit.

Lysander wasn't impressed. "So you now hide inside walking machines, filled with weapons and covered in steel… do you seriously believe that will save you? Grant you some kind of immortality? To you who hide in these machines, prepare to realize that you are certainly not immortal nor invincible!"

He closed his eyes…to the pilots, nothing at first happened…untill they felt their hearts beat faster, their blood pumping quicker, they couldn't explain it…untill they felt it get worse, and worse, they were getting dizzy, nauseated, and they started to lose their ability to breathe, as their lungs were suddenly closed up. They needed to get out of the machines, and fast, they were scrambling to find a way out…

When…bang…each and every one of them had violently exploded, their guts, organs and bones covered the cockpits of the mechs, every single mech simply stood still, no longer moving, including those inside the wall still, yet to come out, all went silent…untill Lysander made the blood dribble out of the mech, showing the deaths of all the pilots.

The troopers on the wall simply couldn't move from the sight. One of their greatest weapons were so easily defeated. They quickly begun to close the gates in panic.

Lysander smirked, with his eyes open once again, and clicked his fingers. The gates suddenly stopped closing, and their supports, their connections to the wall, broke apart, and the gates fell, showing once again what wrath these people have incurred.

Lysander rose his hand…and the Oni charged, once again, to their last battle on this planet, their human allies followed suit, arming their weapons, ready to get this to end. Those at the wall quickly tried to get over the sudden fear that went through them, and open fire.

Lysander simply stood there, looking past the gate, at the great tree, as the Oni past by him, making sure to avoid bumping into him. He knew Azrael was watching now, and unlike him, refused to be a part of this. He was god, he should not need to reveal himself in order to end this.

The clash was brutal, the troopers that swore to defend the great tree couldn't focus, they were divided between despair, panic, and total fear. It was a massacre to say the least, they had tried, firing at the wave of Oni, but they just couldn't match the force that had flooded into the final line of defence. It was like trying to stop a tidal wave, it wasn't going to happen.

But there were casualties on the Oni side.

As they chose to follow the frontline into battle, a lot of the humans that had joined the Oni in this last struggle, found themselves being gunned down at the same rate as their new friends, even Francis, to the horror of Bill, as he was unleashing a wave of bullets from his Minigun, received a huge hole in his head, his brains splattered out along with a wave of blood, as he fell to the floor, dead.

"FRAAANCIS!" is all Bill could scream out, before he turned his fresh fury at the troopers before him, and unleashed round after round with his terrible shotgun, the pellets ripping through the armour like paper, and tearing into their flesh. He charged ahead, not caring about his own safety, taking down as many people as he could, before several bullets ripped into him. Three to his right shoulder and arm, one to his right leg and two into his chest. He hit the floor, and felt his own blood pour away from his system…

He saw the Oni run by, and in the midst of them, two people stopped at him…Colin and Threedog. Colin had shouted something to Threedog, making him go, before turning his attention to Bill, seeing the damage on his power armour.

"Old man! You better get up before I make you!"

Bill gave a weak cough, looking at Colin. "Eh…That's not gonna happen now Colin. I'm…just about done here…"

It quickly dawned on Colin that, this was it for Bill. At first he expected the old veteran to easily get back up without a problem, hell, from what he used to say, he had far worse. "Hey now, don't talk like that. You got plenty of blood left in ya, and plenty of rounds to shoot the bastards with!"

Bill shook his head. "I'm…not feeling in the mood right now. Listen to me Colin, you make sure we all didn't die for nothin', alright? Promise me that we get through this…"

"Bill, we will, get your ass up!"

"…promise me Colin…promise me you'll help Lysander…do the right thing…"

His lit cigarette fell out of his mouth, as his skin paled a little, his eyes closed, and his body went limp, realising his grip on the terrible shotgun…

Colin went silent, looking at Bill…he reached out, and picked up the terrible shotgun, putting away his plasma rifle. He smiled at his friend, saying. "Yeah, I promise old man. I'll make sure…"

He stood up, and charged back into the fray, using the very weapon his old pal used, making sure that he survives to keep that very promise…

Within the next hour, most of the resistance against the Oni was gone. Tanks were smashed in or destroyed, the artillery cannons were demolished, and the bodies of ten of thousands of men and women were all over the ground. The last remnants were near the tree, just being hacked down by the force of the Oni… when there was a loud, echoing screech…

A huge, dark purple vortex had suddenly appeared before them all, near the remaining few troopers, the screech was heard again, as a giant, powerful being came forth…it's floated through the vortex slowly, going over the heads of the last few men and women, and looking to the Oni, making them all back off quickly, it's red eyes glowing, glaring down at them, and once again, it gave a loud screech of anger, as suddenly, blue flames rose up around the tree, defending it from being touched by the Oni.

This, was the Leviathan Giratina. A serpent shaped creature with large spikes sticking out of the sides of it's lower body, while the upper has six black streams of dark energy flowing out of it's back, with red claws at the end of each one, to show it's a formed part of the beast, yet endlessly flowing. It has three half circle golden rings near it's head, as if they were an outer ribcage of some sort, and it's head had a golden helmet shaped part, with gold fangs covering it's mouth. It's skin colour was grey, with red and black stripes forming all the way from it's underbelly to the front of it's neck.

The Leviathan was reborn into it's original shell, but was made to be a protector for Azrael, to guard the sacred tree at all times, since the start of this cycle, and now it has felt the arrival of Lysander, and knew it's mission was to end him.

It's fangs seem to part, as it revealed it's mouth, and formed a large ball of pure dark energy, unleashing it on the Oni. The energy ball flew out, and engulfed the creatures, exploding on contact, blasting out pure dark energy, ripping the flesh from those nearby the blast, and those inside it, were simply obliterated.

Lysander was quick on the response when he felt this new power arrive. He teleported himself from where he was, to just in front of the creature. It spotted Lysander quickly, and growled.

Lysander motioned the thing to come at him, as he got himself ready for a fight. Giratina was happy enough to oblige, as it formed yet another dark energy ball, and fired it at Lysander. The ball of energy was able to actually make contact with Lysander, engulfing him in it's dark power, and the next moment, to the complete horror of the Oni, they saw their leader go flying out of the energy, skidding across the ground on his back.

That one he wasn't prepared for.

He got up quickly though, and disappeared. Before Giratina could respond, Lysander appeared underneath the floating being, and punched it, as hard as possible, in it's lower region of it's body, with such a force, it shot upwards into the clouds, and Lysander quickly followed, vanishing again.

Giratina was able to recompose itself as it got through the clouds, and floated just above them, sensing for Lysander, only to not notice him surprising the thing by appearing to it's right head of it's head and kicking it, knocking it sidewards. It quickly glared at him, and from it's streamline of dark powers, from the claw tips, it fired out several beams, made of a fire element, noticeable via the fact all the beams were bright orange and Lysander felt the heat coming off them. Lysander easily dodged them, and simply fired back a small ball of dark energy, smacking into Giratina and making it fly backwards a little in pain, before it growled at him again, and opened it's mouth.

What fired out, was like the sun itself, pure raw light power, fired as a beam, it alone knocked back Giratina who had fired it, and Lysander saw the bright burning power coming towards him and…

He vanished and reappeared behind Giratina, and shot forward, fists outright, smacking right into the creatures back, with something sounding like it snapped, making it roar in pain, and fly forward, away from Lysander, before turning around, it couldn't seem to add up the fact it was fighting a god right now, as it felt a strong amount of pain going through it right now.

Lysander laughed at it. "Azrael truly underestimates my power, doesn't he? He sends something as feeble as you to try and stop me! I'm as strong as the very being that tamed you beast! Now prepare to face the beyond! You're not a match for me!"

Lysander pointed his hand towards Giratina, and as it had begun to fly towards him, with it's mouth open to fire something, millions, millions of small red energy shots flew out of Lysander's hand, raining down on Giratina, who tried to resist the pain it felt. It was like a million needles flying into it, stabbing at every single point on it's exposed body again and again.

Giratina couldn't try a charge anymore, and instead attempted to protect itself…that's when it noticed the rain of fire stopped…and in a flash, with the sound of something ripping into flesh, Lysander was seen suddenly near it's neck, with his hand inside it, black blood and energy flowing out of the new hole formed by the hand of the Oni lord.

Lysander, in a motion to that similar of an uppercut, shot his hand upwards from inside…and his hand flew out, ripping through the creatures throat entirely, and taking off it's jaw and tongue, smashing through the golden fangs, making them into small metal fragments dropping out of the sky, creating a fountain of black, dark energy spewing forth from it, as it could no longer scream.

Lysander then quickly pointed his other hand at the creature, and unleashed a grey, unique beam, mixed with both the element of light and darkness…a beam so large, so powerful, it simply obliterated the remains of it's head and neck, leaving the serpent body, which simply floated there for a time, before falling through the clouds, back down to Beyondard…it was defeated.

Lysander smiled at how easy that was, and returned back down to the planet's surface, to find his fine army awaiting him, cheering in happiness, as the blue flames died, the last humans against them on this planet, dead, and the beast, as they saw, fell from the sky, finished.

He landed near the tree, and saw nearby, Colin and Threedog…he knew and felt, they were the last of the humans that had dared to help them, to assist the Oni. He walked towards them, as they stood to attention, the Oni still cheering and celebrating in their own way. "…Your people died for the right reasons, and you both are here now to continue their legacy, to show that indeed, humanity is not all as slaves to Azrael as they first appeared…once I have shown you what is underneath the Great tree, I wish to bestow you both a powerful title, so that you can follow me, no matter where I roam."

Threedog smiled at him. "Hey, it's cool. I know my boys would be thankful that they simply did their job in bringing this Beyondard issue to a close. That the good fight so far, has been won."

Colin stood there, holding the terrible shotgun close to him. "It's what they all would've wanted. It'll be a pleasure to make sure things go your way, to help you out and all that shit."

Lysander nodded, and begun to walk towards the tree, and stopped, right next to it…he gently put his hand to the bark, feeling it, and soon found himself in deep thought.

This war was painful, it cost alot of lives, but it was won, now if he shows his to humanity…

He paused…

….would it change anything now?

It dawned on him. This is why Azrael had no need to intervene.

It was so obvious, but the idea of trying to show them the right way blinded him.

The Oni were sworn enemies to Mankind now. All of man know of the Oni as monsters, villains, aliens who want war. They had brought it, and killed so many. And humanity would use this as fuel, to continue this war, not on this planet though…

On every single planet in existence.

He had foolishly helped Azrael brand him more of an outcast then ever before. He knew that the battle was won, but the war…the war itself was already long lost.

Everyone waited for him, for him to finally reveal the garden in which he was created from…instead…he moved back from the tree, a couple of tears coming from their lord, as he knew it was over…

* * *

No matter what, the Oni could never gain anymore acceptance from humans except those few who understand them. Lysander understood now, and ordered a complete ceasefire to all ships, and ordered them to retreat back to Oni territory, Universe 1.

Even Beyondard, the very planet they wanted, was abandoned, in it's ruined, body filled state. Humanity was fast on the recovery, soon creating the borders between them and the Oni, no daring to move into Oni territory, but not letting them return back into their own. The Oni were seen as the darkest, most hated creatures in existence now.

And Lysander knew it.

He now returned to the prime home planet of the Oni, and was in it's capital, sitting on his grand, golden throne, silent, as his servants awaited his new orders…

…he said something to his subjects, and they all reacted in surprise and shock.

He explained his reasons, and ordered each on a final task, which they promised to follow to the letter.

Within that very room, Threedog and Colin were there, listening to him, knowing that even when he said they could follow him everywhere, they couldn't, not for this, as he wanted…and what he wanted…

Was to be free. To hide from all this, to be in his own world, his own thoughts, to try and understand himself more, but above all else, to punish himself for smashing any hopes of unity between them and their fellow people…

He chose to exile himself from the Oni.

* * *

Alright. Notes:

1. Bill, Louis, Zoey, Nick and Francis are from the Left 4 Dead series. Nick being from Left 4 Dead 2. Him and Zoey will reappear, but not in this story. Their journey takes them into the way way distant future…

2. Colin Moriarty, Threedog and Reddin and all from the game Fallout 3. Colin was the crime lord and barkeep of Megaton. Threedog was the DJ of Galaxy News Radio.

Reddin is, ironically to her name, a Red Shirt/Stormtrooper to star wars people, in Fallout was the new gal of a group called the brotherhood of steel, only to get owned by two exploding buses, caused by a huge green mother fucker.

ALSO, power armour is from that game as well.

3. The Atlas is the super kickass machine from the Battletech / Mechwarrior series, known to be the king of the battlefield. It's arsenal pretty much is about the same as mentioned in the story.

4. Silent Hill is, obviously, from Silent Hill.


	5. The 13th Cycle I

Lysander.

The name begun to vanish into time itself.

Cycles of the Multiverse begun to drift by, time recovered the lives lost, rebuilt them anew.

The Oni had kept to their ground on the first few cycles, but soon, without guidance, they begun to attempt takeovers, to attack each and every universe. They had become a part of the Multiverse, and were even now accepted by Azrael, just so humanity had a main target throughout their existence, a main enemy to always face.

As for Humanity, things had changed for them.

There were many other races now. Azrael had allowed evolution, things to change, to expand the types of beings. And they stood all together against the Oni. The battles of 'justice' and 'virtue' as these beings named them were often, making both sides suffer and fight for survival.

At first, that is, but soon diversity spread, and things changed again, there were some that felt sorry for the Oni, assisted their cause. Things had changed so much from the simple days, when Lysander was simply known as Lysander.

Now that name is forgotten, but he is not, for he is known, throughout the Multiverse, as the bringer of chaos. The 'Chaos Lord'.

In Lysanders current state of depression, it was a fitting title. He is indeed, a bringer of chaos, a master of doing so. He had hoped the Oni would somehow sort themselves out, that perhaps without him, things for them would improve. As he noticed, it only got worse, much worse. If there was any hope for them before, there wasn't any now.

The Chaos Lord was now on a planet called Earth, in one of the twenty universes. Human dominated. He didn't mind, the more followers to his father around, the better. His father didn't seem to look for him in areas where his followers were in abundance like this planet.

It was the 13th cycle now of the multiverse. To Lysander, he was expecting this one to simply flow by him like the rest, his questions in his mind unanswered, left to wander world to world…but not this time.

The streets were busy as always. Hover cars were seen flying overhead, bright sunlight beaming down on the concrete pavement and buildings, people going about their daily lives, Lysander was seen in the middle of these people, wearing his black long coat, his glasses were taken off for now. He admitted his father knew how to make days look beautiful. As he walked on, he looked at every person that passed him.

They all had a purpose, a destiny in life, long or short, it was something. Something that drove them on, something that made them complete their mission…

He had nothing like that, he was simply wandering place to place in this city. He had brought a flat on the edge of this city called Los Angeles. He was looking in the shop windows, peeping into places without any need for anything, just searching…

And he saw a familiar sight ahead, near the centre of the city.

There was a marble temple, grand, large, awed by the people, it was the temple that allowed people to pray to Azrael, with a golden clock on the front of it, large silver doors were the only way in once you walked up the large amount of steps that lead to them.

Temples to Azrael were few and far between these days, several cycles ago Lysander recalled seeing them everywhere, nowadays, it was as if Azrael himself was becoming a faded memory to his subjects. He was surprised with this, he expected his father the "you must pray to me" sort. Instead it's like his let go of such things.

Normally this would be the time Lysander turns around and head somewhere else instead of going towards the temple to his dad.

But not today.

He felt a need. He had often stopped at this point, looked at the place and walked away, but after so long of wondering by himself…perhaps…maybe, inside there, he can find a hint to the answers his after, just maybe…in the most risky place he could enter. Would his father find him? Would he know right away?

There was only one way to find out.

He felt fear as he walked up the steps, with a few people now passing him by, leaving the temple. He felt unwelcome, like as if Azrael knew he was coming, but he refused to turn back, not now. He soon reached those beautiful shining, yet plain silver doors, and open one of them, letting himself in, and closing it behind him.

Inside…he admitted, humans knew how to impress. All over the walls of this holy place, were paintings, of what they saw Azrael as, from a humble human, to what he saw up the front of the temple, a golden statue of a very large owl, was seen. The floor leading up to it was marble, covered with a red carpet, and on the way to the statue, there was wooden benches, so people could sit and pray, instead of going all the way up to the statue itself, as if to symbol that by simply being here, he would listen to you.

Fat chance, Lysander thought to himself. He soon sat down at the bench furthest to the back, looking at the statue, and looked down to the ground…he begun to go into deep thinking about himself. He felt watched, but not by his father…just…something else. Like a force inside the temple. From the statue perhaps, he wasn't sure, but he didn't get chased out as he expected, so that's a good sign.

He noticed others were praying on the other wooden benches to their god, their creator, he sat silently, eyes closed…he felt as if time was slipping by now, as he sat there, his own world clouding his senses.

Until he felt someone sit next to him.

There was silence, before a female voice said to him. "Have you come to seek Azraels Guidance?"

He responded "…I've come to find a hint to my own." he opened his eyes, and sat up slowly, looking at her.

Sitting there, looking at him, was a woman in her mid 30's he could tell. Human no doubt, rather long black hair, with deep blue eyes, her skin a little pale, wearing what appear to be a white robe, with a hood on it, lowered for now, she was surprised with his answer a little.

"Oh, I see." she didn't hide the fact. Often people just normally say yes, it was nice to have a difference, in a way. Her voice was calm, comforting and gentle. "Your own guidance. that's understandable. Perhaps Azrael will help you with finding it."

Lysander looked at her carefully, and nodded, looking over to the statue. "Maybe, or maybe he'll reject me.". he felt her eyes looking at him, no doubt in that surprised look again. He turned to her, and he was correct. "Sorry, I've not…turned to him for a very, very long time."

"How long has it been?"

"Longer then anything you could imagine. I've only just thought about coming here…so, I am Lysander. Who might you be?"

"Oh me? I'm Celia. I'm one of the Guardians to the temple. We often go about asking the people to hear of their troubles and pass them to our lord."

Lysander leaned back in his seat. "And you came over to ask me huh?"

Celia nodded. In actual fact, she noticed him the second he stepped into the temple, from afar. As he sat down, she felt something from him, a dark, foreboding feeling, one that drawed her to him, to at least know if it was something that talking to him could help him lift.

Lysander smiled a little. "Well thank you for asking. But it's nothing I need help with. I need to find it myself, with my own question to him."

"Not everything can be done alone, Lysander. If you feel you need to speak to us, to me, do not be afraid to ask, we're here to help you find that guidance you're after."

Lysander nodded calmly. "I'll remember that, although after today, I doubt I'll be back, but thanks anyway."

Celia recognised that hint that it was her cue to leave him alone, but for a moment, she couldn't. she was interested in him. Something around him was different to everyone else. A nagging feeling told her he was bad news, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.

But she knew it was better to move away, and as she did, she felt saddened. She would not meet him again, to find out what he was looking for, and after half an hour of sitting there, Lysander stood up, and departed…

Fate on the other hand, wasn't going to disappoint her anytime soon.

* * *

It was three weeks later, during one of the evenings, as the dark clouds floated overhead on the streets, Celia had several plastic bags of shopping, wearing a brown silk, short sleeved shirt, with a long grey skirt on and black shoes, being careful to avoid bumping into people, as it was rush hour.

She lived several streets away from the temple, in a house on one of the cosy looking streets. Being a guardian was a day time job, given to her by her family pretty much on birth, thankfully one with surprisingly good pay.

She had to admit though, as much as it was good pay, she didn't enjoy the job a lot. Most of it was standing around or praying to Azrael, to thank him for the food they eat and the liquid they drink. The actual talking to people was rare, as often the regulars would come in, with the same damn reasons or simply to pray. It was a boring life as a guardian. at least she got two days a week off the job to live her life…whatever life that was.

She had no boyfriend, no friends really except those in the temple, people avoided guardians on the account that rumours of them punishing those they connect with, with death for any sin they commit. It was bullshit, but it's been around for thousands of years, one of those rumours that won't go away.

Of course shes had sex before, in her teenage years, she had plenty of guys, but once they heard she was a guardian, they never stayed with her, fled in mere minutes. She's come to slightly resenting guys for being wussies with the fact she MIGHT kill them for anything.

She had just avoided one person, and bumped right into another, knocking her back, which caught her off guard. The person seemed to stand there like a brick wall as she fell down, dropping her shopping, making the people go around them both. She had a smashing sound, knowing that she had only one glass jar in her shopping. Her hot chocolate, now most likely all over the place.

"Oh damnit! Sorry sorry!" she quickly said, as she begun to pick up what she dropped, without looking at the person, expecting them to simply walk on. Instead, the person bent down, grabbed a tin of peaches for her and put it in one of her plastic bags.

She recognised the voice right away as the person grabbed another item and put it in the bag. "It's fine Celia. You didn't do me any harm. Are you okay?"

Lysander.

She was stunned, looking at him, as he idly helped sort out her shopping. Once it was sorted, he gave it to her, smiling a little. "There you go."

"Thanks…" she was thankful, but annoyed with the fact her favourite hot drink was now gonna have to wait till she could go back to the shops, in five days, to get another jar of it. "But that fall broke something I think." she looked into the bag where the jar was. "I think it was…."

She stopped.

It was fine. No spill, no damage. It was intact. She checked the other bags, with Lysander looking at her confusion. It was all fine. Even though she heard clearly the glass smashing against the floor.

"Is everything alright?" she heard him ask.

She could only nod, double checking, even getting the jar out and looking at it carefully. "Yeah, it's just…did you hear glass breaking when I fell?"

Lysander shook his head. "No, I didn't hear anything like that, just everything hitting the floor." In honesty, he did, and he knew what he did for her, by using his powers, but she didn't need to know.

Celia shook it off, maybe it was just her expecting it or something. "Well, thank you. It's nice to see you again by the way."

"You too. Didn't expect to bump into you outside the temple. I thought guardians lived inside those places?"

"Oh that tradition died off centauries ago. We need to live with the people of the cities. The isolation didn't help a lot of them in later life back in those days."

"Oh, I see."

There was a little silence between them, before Celia asked. "Hey Lysander, did you find that hint you wanted from Azrael?"

Lysander shook his head. "No. as expected really. I need to find it elsewhere."

"Maybe you need a hand trying to find it." She thought about things for a moment, then got an idea. "…look, why don't you come back to my place for a little bit? Have a drink with me. Maybe we'll figure something out to help you find that guidance you're after."

Lysander was unsure about this. He didn't want a human to get mixed up in his troubles, but then again, he didn't have to tell her all about them, just a little bit, that's all. Just so she might be able to draw out an idea for him. He agreed to the idea.

When they got to her house and inside, Lysander had to admit, for a guardian, he expected statues and paintings of Azrael everywhere. Instead, it was a simply place, the walls were painting a navy blue, with a grey carpet covering most of the rooms floors, a few art paintings here and there on the walls, a nice, pleasant white kitchen, when he went into her living room, she had a brown leather coach with a coffee table in front of it, a large, flat screen TV on the other end of the room, and several potted plants, with all kinds of flowers.

He sat down, rather impressed by it all. It shows no hint to her being a guardian to Azraels temple, to any other person, she would appear to be normal. She had gone into the kitchen, after asking him what he wanted to drink, and to unpack the shopping.

A good 20 minutes later, she was sitting with him, they both had a hot chocolate, with her having several sugars in hers to make it extra sweet. They had the TV on, but the sound on low. An old film was on, about the evil Zerg invading Fara II. The few human survivors fighting against the odds to defeat the Zerg invaders.

"So, Lysander, what are you hoping to find? I mean, this guidance. what for?"

He took a sip of his drink, closing his eyes for a moment. " I'm trying to find a reason to keep going, to understand myself a bit more. I did something a long time ago Celia, something I regret greatly."

"Oh?"

"I would prefer not going into it, but lets say it effected me badly. I left those I saw as family and friends to try and figure myself out, and for so long, I've not found anything."

Celia thought about this for a moment. "And this is why you came to the temple? To see if Azrael might open your eyes and get you in the right direction?"

"Yes."

Celia looked at the TV, watching the film. " Well, I'll be a little frank with you, Azrael doesn't always hand out answers, believe you me. I've asked him about a few things myself, and I never got a hint or a helping hand."

Lysander smirked at her. "Isn't that blasphemy talk?"

She smiled. "Nah. If I was at work it would be, but outside it, I don't care too much, not like Azrael often listens to people anyway. We normally give out the help. It's down to the peoples belief if they think it came from Azrael or not."

Lysander was glad he found a human that wasn't so chained to Azrael, she seemed to be more open minded then many faces his seen or heard. "Well there's a reason to why he would ignore me anyway Celia. Since I'm an outcast."

"Now don't be like that. No one is an outcast Lysander, you just, need someone to help you down here instead of looking up there for him…"

These talks between them, continued for several weeks, often on certain days when she had plenty of time off to help him. They would sit together, watch a film and discuss Lysanders problem, often it leading to Lysander repeating himself and avoiding certain questions.

After several times, Celia found herself hugging him every time he was at her door, ready to leave. He was a man that was close to her, and she had begun to express feelings that hadn't come out in ages.

Love.

She liked him a lot. That mystery to him was attractive, he was good looking, and rather a gentlemen. Once she had fallen asleep when he was round, tired from work, the next morning she woke, he was gone, with her now laying down on the couch, with a silky purple cover over her, and two fluffy pillows underneath her head. Where they came from, she had no idea. He simply said he got them out of her linen cupboard.

Yet she never had a silk purple cover before. Still, it didn't matter really. Over two months went by for them, still Celia developed feelings for him, more and more, and still she couldn't get to the source of his problems. He was hiding something, and she wanted to know.

That dark feeling from him still remained, something told her it wasn't good, but no matter what, she would help him.

As they sat together, their drinks finished, the movie over, another fruitless night of trying to get to the heart of the matter, Celia sat there, as Lysander looked over at the clock on her wall and said. "Well, it's two minutes to midnight. I better go."

Outside, there was a dreadful storm going on, a flash of lighting lit the room for a moment, then after several seconds, the loud noise came. Celia looked at Lysander, as he was about to get up and said. "Lysander. Why do you avoid my questions?"

He stopped, and looked at her. "I don't."

"You do. Especially if I try to get personal information about you, you always go around the question, never answering directly. I've noticed."

"…" he nodded a little. His known her long enough to lower his guard a little. "I won't deny that."

"Lysander….what is it? What are you hiding from me? You've said to me that I'm the only person you speak to, the only person you really trust in this city…prove it. Tell me."

Lysander stood up from the couch, no longer looking at her. " You won't like the truth."

"The truth?"

"To everything. To who I am, what is the matter…everything. Are you sure that you want to go down a path that no human should?"

Celia was taken aback. Worry had entered her mind, if only for a moment. It sounded like he could be a murderer, or a psycho or something. But then she knew that the only way to find out was to go for it. "I'm willing to go down that path Lysander."

He turned, and looked at her. He removed his glasses, putting them into one of his pockets. He closed his eyes for a moment, sighing, then looking at her again. "I had a feeling Azrael would not listen to me, because he is my father, my creator."

Celia sighed in relief, and stood up, putting a comforting hand on Lysanders shoulder. "Lysander, we're all his creations and-"

"No Celia, I'm the one who got away. The one he hates to look upon, the one that became his enemy, which your temple, your beliefs, make sure is embedded into those that follow it. The villain of your religion."

Celia was suddenly silent, staring at him. Lighting flashed once again at that moment.

"I'm the Chaos Lord."

The sound of lightning soon echoed in the room right after, as Celia moved her hand off his shoulder.

"W-what? Lysander, don't be silly…"

Lysander clicked his fingers, and another wave of lightning flashed, with the sound following, at first a distance away, then he clicked his fingers again, another flash appearing, the noise closer, each time he did it, closer, and closer…until he clicked his fingers, and the second the flash ended, the noise erupted, meaning it was right overhead.

He clicked his fingers once more, and all of the electrics shut off in her home. His face could been seen from the light coming in through the windows, the shadows of the rain on the windows on him.

"Many mages and wizards on certain planets can pull this off, but none can do it by the clicks of their fingers, even deity beings aren't as fast as me. My powers were passed to me by my father, before I turned on him."

He clicked his fingers again, and only one light came on, the light overhead, on the ceiling. The rain outside suddenly stopped. He clicked his fingers again, and then, the lights were back on to normal, the electric was back, the rain, even the TV was on, with the movie just starting.

Wait… Celia looked at the TV. That movie had just ended, but now it was starting again. She looked at the time, shocked. It was now half past nine.

Lysander was still staring her down. " I'm the chaos bringer, as you all see me, a chaos bringer that's lost himself Celia. It's been a long time since I've done anything to the Multiverse, because I lost my way. that's why I came Celia…that's why I walked into your temple, hoping my father would help me at last. After nine cycles of wandering, I wanted help."

Celia moved a step back, failing to remember the couch was behind her, as she suddenly fell back on it, looking at him still. "It…it can't be…but…but you look…look like a hu-"

"Human being? I am one…or was, before Azrael attacked me, killed the people I cared for." he looked away from her. "I was assaulted for simply leaving my prison he made for me. A paradise which belonged to me, and me alone, and I hated it. I needed companionship, and he denied me that."

"..I'm…I'm sorry, but…but why would Azrael…his our creator Lysander."

Lysander sighed, and then moved towards her, gently putting a hand on her shoulder now, making her jump a little. "I know you don't believe me…so I'm going to let you see things through my eyes."

Celia's eyes widened.

Memories, millions of them, flooded into her mind, it felt like months to her, going through them all, mostly of his prison…then the people he raised and helped, his happiness…then anger, as Azrael struck them down. Then the war…

She heard the screams of pain, anguish, despair, from both the Oni, and Humanity, the images that flashed through her mind of the deaths, the Phazon nukes, the way the Oni refused to quit, the fact they were once humans…

Then she saw the great tree, as he moved his hand towards it…and stopped. She felt his realization that he had destroyed all hopes for the Oni and Man. She finally found what she wanted to know. She soon realized that all this was before this Multiverse, cycles, she know knew, had come and gone, and Lysander, the Chaos Lord, had been wandering for all this time, alone, sad, defeated from within. The only comfort he ever had, was when sleep took him, and the singing lady, created from crystal, laid his head on her lap, stroking his hair in his dreams.

She felt tears running down her cheeks, as Lysander finally reappeared before he eyes, the memories fresh inside. The main one that kept coming back was the moment Q open those gates for him, to let him go, to set him free.

He waited for her to say something, anything right now. Even to demand him to leave would do it right now.

"Free…" she mumbled.

Lysander looked at her oddly for a second.

"You…need to…be free…"

"Celia?"

She slowly stood back up. Her eyes were not of fear or shock anymore. In them, there was understanding, she knew now. She understood him, and knew what he needed. "Lysander. You need, to escape from here, from this Multiverse. You, need, to be free…somewhere Azrael shall never harm you again…or even harm those that follow you. that's, the guidance you seek. I, I, I understand now…"

Lysander was stunned by this. And it even dawned on him…yes, to be free. Take those that truly believed in him, to a new place, beyond Azrael, beyond all this. To stop the fighting, the humans belief of the Oni and him being evil…it would stop once they left, a new cycle would leave it all to Azrael. No more pain.

She had made him open his eyes, a goal. He had one now. It would need to be kept silent as possible, but it was there. If they could find a way, then maybe…

He hugged her, tightly, smiling. This human had shown him the way, this wonderful girl had made him understand what he needed to do to correct the wrongs.

He soon stopped hugging her, looked right at her and said. "Celia, thank you! Thank you! You finally made me-"

She kissed him. Her lips suddenly connected to his. A powerful impulse took her, their tongues suddenly connecting.

She pulled away for a moment, whispering into his ear. "I know all about you now, Lysander…and I want you. Don't deny me this, please…"

She had asked for the Chaos Lord to mate with her.

And he would not disappoint. It was the least he could do for her after all she had done for him. A primal desire was a simple reward. Their lust led them to her bedroom, and soon her clothes were flung off, showing the body that awaited the Chaos Lord to enjoy. Her breasts were of medium size, her body thin and slender, her hips slightly wide, long legs, smooth, soft…

He was going to enjoy this. Indeed, he had mated before, but that was before his battles with Azrael. So long ago, he felt now a little rusty, but he did not fail in what he had to do.

Throughout the night, Celia could be heard moaning loudly in delight, as the Chaos Lord penetrated her, touching her all over, moving from one position to another, their bodies in rhythm with one another, their love making, fast and furious.

This night was going to be the start of a new beginning…

* * *

Years have passed since then, and things have changed. Lysander's confidence returned, and once he started small on the planet, but soon it changed. with his power, in a daring move, he had changed the people of the Earths minds, making them believe he is their ruler of the planet and allowing him control of what happens. He feared the bold move would alert Azrael, but he was lucky. It seemed Azrael had grown relaxed after so long, such a change went unnoticed…

To Azrael that was. To the beings of the Universe where that Earth resided, it was big news, big enough, to reach the Oni, to make them realize their once god had returned again to them, and on a human planet no less.

This was his goal, to grab the attention of the Oni in a big way. He felt he needed a planet inside Azrael's controlled territory to show he was back in action, to show that he was going to defy him once again.

But this time, not to prove a point, or for revenge.

This was for freedom, this planet was going to be his base of operations, to find a way out.

He noticed though, that technology was not as fast on advancing as it once proudly was for humanity, things had needed to take time. He couldn't risk a speed up of technology with his power, the one quick wave of energy was daring enough. Twice or three times might get Azrael to pile down on him.

Soon, a base of operations had been created for him on this planet…called the Palace of Power.

But it was no simple Palace. It was a beacon, a transmitter, it was designed to be the very place that would open up the exit, a gateway to somewhere beyond everything they've seen, the escape from this Multiverse. But it needed a key, a power source to activate.

For many years, nothing was found to help him. There was no key source, a correct element to defy the powers that be. For now, Lysander focused on family life, to keep himself low profiled.

Celia.

She was now his Wife. Their loved had blossomed. She was granted immortality by him, and gifted with many of his powers, to assist him. Even more so, she had two children, that would come with them when the time came. Lysander enjoyed being a father, to have a family, something he had longed for once in his prison…

The two children, were Iris, and Cosmos.

As he settled down more and more, Lysander felt that perhaps the possibility to escape will never happen. But it did, it came from a planet, created by the combination of Chozo technology, Species 8472 technology and Luminoth technology. The first two races were legendary in the Multiverse, having first appeared in every cycle, fighting for their lives against one another, creating weapons that would never be again seen in later times, leaving behind legacies. The third race, the Luminoth, were a species that mostly existed in the Negative Multiverse, rarely there kind appeared in the normal Multiverse.

One species of the three survived up to this point, in Universe 1. Species 8472, which was now on the side of the Oni. With their help, and using the technology of their rivals, and technology of a unique species, on a planet away from this very Multiverse, a glove was created, with the combination of all. A Glove which could defy the rules of teleportation in this Multiverse, to a point it could teleport an entire planet, and to where?

Anywhere.

Even beyond the boundaries of the Multiverse, as it was in created. It's name, was the Power Glove. Eventually, it was passed to him once Species 8472 felt content with it's power and use.

Lysander felt his luck has finally turned good. This was it, his chance to leave…and yet Azrael had other plans, all because Lysander had exposed himself, showed himself…

And what was to happen, was to change everything.

Lysander had found himself tied to an unfortunate fate, coming into contact with people that didn't belong in that time, he met a race called the Daleks, that had attempted to threaten him, the result? He showed his power to them, to reveal who he was, at such a level, it wouldn't go unnoticed…and it didn't.

Arch Angels, wearing their signature black trousers, jackets, shoes, with a white top and black tie, with pitch black glasses, had detected him.

Arch Angels, created by Azrael, were agents designed to seek out and stop any members of the Chaos Lords army, they were commanded by very few angels. They had no names, they were just numbers and symbols. Their power was lesser then an angel, but their numbers made up for the lack of, as they had a unique strength. Arch angels were connected by their spirits, when close together, synchronizing their power with one another, thus boosting it. One arch angel would be an easy target, but several, and even angels can be defeated.

They had tracked Lysander to the Palace, and attempted to remove him themselves, even if the effort was futile, their goal was to see if he was the one and only Chaos Lord himself, and not just a powerful being.

Lysander showed them who he was, and beaten them down before they fled, knowing that the angels needed to know, that Azrael must be informed. They fled, to the distant planet, of Beyondard.

On each Beyondard these days, in it's north pole, was a mighty tree, a replica of the great tree, which still exists to this day. It was this tree they reappeared at, on one of the higher branches, far from the ground below. In front of them, was a giant hole into the tree. They had entered, and journeyed deep inside, to find at the very centre, on a round, wooden platform, was a giant brown owl, it's eyes were a deep gold, glowing down at them, as they entered. There as well, were ten of Azraels finest angels, all had felt the same power, and had come to the tree to hear the news.

Anna, one of Azraels top angels, had been following duties for a few cycles now, and was regarded as an effective being to them. She was wearing a blue suit, with black ties and black shoes.

With her was her sister Resha, someone who looked like Elie of the game master verse, but with longer hair, who had been serving Azrael for about the same time as Anna, she was wearing the same suit as Anna, although only for meetings like this. Her normal attire was a beautiful white dress and white shoes.

Gman was here as well, wearing his blue suit, purple tie and holding onto his signature suitcase, just making sure his tie was on properly. He was made to guard one of the universes which will soon have a change, as a hero called Primus will soon rise in a few hundred years there.

Q was present, wearing a Starfleet uniform, a captains one, which was from the previous cycle, not yet in existence in this one. He seemed rather concerned with what they may have gathered for, and deep down, he was hoping it's just for some tea and cake.

Castiel was standing there, looking at them all in slight wonder, wearing his light brown overcoat, with a blue tie, and wearing a blue tuxedo suit underneath the jacket. He was one of the ones who was ordered to watch the universe where the Palace of Power was. How Lysander got by him was anyone's guess.

There as well, was the Earl, the Millennium Earl. In his humanoid form, standing there with the rest of them, joking a little with Q as they wait. But although he seemed more relaxed then Q, he wasn't. but unlike Q, he had plans, big ones, and the Chaos Lord going to make their beginning. For this will certainly keep Azraels attention…

Chuck Norris had his arms folded, waiting for the report from the arch angels. He was wearing a cowboy hat, with a brown sleeveless jacket, blue top, leather brown trousers and dark brown boots. One of the few known angels not to dress in the formal manner, much like Q. he is also an original angel, one of first to be created, again, like Q.

Standing nearest to the owl, was a female angel, who had dull blue skin, deep sea blue medium hair, her eyes iris was black, along with the pupil, her lips a deep blue colour, and she was wearing violet colour mini dress, blue high heel shoes, around her neck, was a golden necklace with a light blue, faint glowing stone. This was Ronni. She is one of the very few daring to openly question Azrael whenever he suggests something and has been viewed as a wild card. Yet not once has she directly opposed Azrael, if they both don't agree, she simply monitors what happens. She was one of the two that opposed the idea of making Man slowly turn into an enemy of the Oni.

Finally standing there, was the one that was slightly more powerful then the other angels, improved by Azrael himself, designed to be the new second in command as Lysander would've been. There, was Procurator Humanus, or, as he renamed himself as the cycles went by to discard his past with Lysander, Agent Smith. Wearing the a new suit that matches the arch angels, and wearing black glasses like them, he was the one that mostly ordered them what to do…and was the most hated amongst many of the 'pure created' angels, such as the Earl, Chuck and Q, the ones that weren't human beforehand like him.

The arch angels explained of what they found out, the owl looked down to the angels, talking between themselves at first. The owl, also known as one of Azraels many forms, spoke out to silence them, his deep, booming voice echoing in the tree, ordering that the time to act is now, that the Chaos Lord must be defeated before he has a chance of attacking them again.

Q had asked on how they could possibly stop the Chaos Lord. His power was more then a match of many of the angels they had. They couldn't take him on. But Azrael had an idea, long in the works for this day.

Azrael had long created a 'core', an ancient stone diamond which held a great connection to his power. He had fed much of his power into it, so that it could be used against Lysander, for with that power, if Lysander was caught on a weak moment…it could trap him, trap him in a prison, in a dimension out of reach of his servants, which Azrael would be in control of. The problem was of course, people were needed to weaken the Chaos Lord before the trap could be sprung.

Chuck Norris, Castiel, Anna and Resha suggested they should go, with a force of angels to bring him down. But that's when Agent Smith was heard laughing, making everyone look at him.

"Oh, Do you really think that will work? The Chaos Lord will expect that, he will easily take on any angels you throw at him…I suggest, we send myself, and outsiders. People with unique, strong power who are not angels, beings that the Chaos Lord will not expect. I will do most of the fighting, but with the unexpected on our side, the Chaos Lord will never know what hit him, and, with your core, father, you can enhance their powers. What do you think?"

The other angels were angry with this, expect for Ronni, who looked at Azrael, waiting for him to speak, and with a few words that quietened all the angels, he agreed to the idea.

* * *

It was within few days, that Lysander was preparing his escape from the Multiverse, when the trap was sprung, within the Palace of Power. In his way, were four warriors, behind them, was the mysterious large, colourless diamond, covered in a white aura, the core of Azrael, an energy shield protecting it from harm. The four warriors that had become destined to stop him were:

Gabriel, a Deity who was a loyal follower to the minor gods in each universe. His skin was in two halves. One half was red, the other blue. He had long blonde hair, and wore a white silk cloth around his groin area. The skin was to show what his main powers were; his mastered ability of controlling Chaos energy and Phazon energy.

Next to him, was Ingrid, a young girl by appearance, but like Gabriel, a Deity of extreme power. She had long white hair, dark red eyes, golden, round hairclips in her hair on the sides, a dull blue, zipped up jacket, with white gloves, a short dull blue skirt, with black stockings on, and black high heeled shoes. She was in the same boat as Gabriel in her position, a loyal follower to the minor gods, unlike Gabriel, she is more feared for her appearance has often deceived her enemies, lowering their guard, before they meet their demise.

Next to her was a Hylian from the world of Hyrule in the Broken Universe, called Diamas Link. The great great great ancestor to Link of the present day. Unlike his descendent, he holds the original Master Sword, a dark evil blade unlike it's latter copies, cursed by the Chozo ghosts that guarded it before Diamas stole it from it's tomb to fight against the evil that plagued his world.

He wore black leather armour all over, with a black cloak with blood red linen inside, dark brown gloves on his hands, on the back of his right hand, was marked with the triforce, all of the parts glowing. His eyes iris was blood red, and his skin was tanned slightly, with his hair colour blonde, like the later Link.

And finally standing next to him, was a powerful warlock, from the world of Templus from that same universe, called Kel'Thurzard. His power as a wizard of sorts and a deadly fighter was unmatched, to the point he had slain several deities. His name brought fear on his world, and it was made worse by the fact the world was being controlled by a man that he loyally served as his king, who had the warlock assist him in world domination, with shocking success.

He wore a red open jacket and trousers, a white top with a black bow tie to go with it, black shoes, and brown fingerless gloves. This was his way of hiding his power from others, as he appeared to be a normal person, when inside he was a danger to all. He had a black eye patch on his right eye after he had it gorged out during his path to becoming what he was now, during a fight with a mage. His other eye showed his eye colour was blue. He was rather masculine, with a blonde medium sized moustache, and blonde hair to match.

Before their fight begun, Agent Smith appeared before Lysander, walking up from behind the four warriors. He had decided to use Lysanders new 'human' name in order to avoid any chances of the angels figuring it it's him through word and mouth, Neo Kazuma.

"Mr KaZUmaaaaa….surprised, to see me?"

Lysander was a little surprised when he recognised the aura coming off Agent Smith. "…Procky? Wow, Azrael really gave you a makeover didn't he?"

Agent Smith was annoyed with the pet name response, but kept his composure. "My NAME…was Procurator Humanus. But now I am reborn, as an agent of the true god. I am Agent Smith, angel to Azrael…and you will be destroyed, Chaos Lord."

Lysander smirked a little at this, and even laughed a tad, but kept a serious face. "You know, all that time back, I thought you was killed along with everyone else during Azraels rage against me. I fought in your name against him, now to know your alive and under his slavery, I'm guessing you're the guy that ratted me out."

"You were against him. You had changed, made yourself distant from him, claimed the paradise he made for you, a prison. I, refused to accept that, refused to walk the same path as you did, Mr Kazuma. Refused to follow a man that would lead us to our own self destruction, as you have done with the Oni."

Lysander looked at him carefully, and shook his head. "I'm sorry you feel that way. But I won't let you stop me. Stop me from being free from my father."

Agent Smith shook his head slowly, before staring at Lysander. "Do you even know why you're here? Because you can't escape fate. You can't escape the fact that I will defeat you and remove you from here. You will never be free…Lysander…not if I, have something to do with it."

The clash between the Chaos Lord and Agent Smith brought an end to the dream. The Chaos Lord was successfully imprisoned by the chosen ones. Those that were with the Chaos Lord at this decisive hour, could do nothing to stop it. Their efforts were in vain.

But not all of their effort was. For the Chaos Lord was able to trigger the Power Glove, but there was a counter effect, for the Azrael Core had interfered with it's presence, the Palace of Power remained…and the rest of the Planet Earth, vanished. Agent Smith had quickly used his powers to create a sphere of oxygen around the palace, to keep his mortal allies, and enemies, alive.

The Earth, had soon reappeared in another Multiverse, successfully breaking free…and changing. As it had left the previous Multiverse, the universal 'laws' of it's space and time were left behind, and the planet itself, with it's life stream flowing inside, changed from it's technology advanced age to something much, much more primitive, draining all life energy back into the planet, killing all of the humans and such along with it, and remaking them itself.

Soon, Animals reigned on the planet, no buildings remained, there was no hint of intelligent life…but there would be, for Earth was going to slowly bring it back, for now, the previous owners of the planets, humanity, was de-evolved…into apes, and already, those apes had begun to notice the use of bones and logs as weapons…

But not all were completely changed, in fact, one had not been changed at all. It remained in the depths of the oceans, shielding itself with an aura to deflect the wave effect from jumping from one Multiverse to the next…and despite the now crippling pain it was placed under, as it was alien to the new Universe it had been put in, it kept up it's own vigilance, it's own mission.

It was a Leviathan. One of the Dis.

The one who chose to carry the body, of the fallen Leviathan, Anachronos.

* * *

Back in the Multiverse, Azrael had heard of the positive news from Agent Smith, thanked him personally, and was then left alone…that is, left alone with Ronni, who stood there as Agent Smith had said what had happened.

She stood there silently, before saying in a calm, yet deep, delicate voice. " The Oni will know…and this will bring back war."

Azrael looked at her…and soon, he changed, into a humanoid form, wearing a one piece white outfit, with one black and one white gloves on, green shoes, with long black hair, with a moustache and beard, holding a mostly white feathered fan, with some of the feathers in the centre being light blue, with a golden handle to it. He spoke in a calm, calculated voice. "I know. I expected it would. This will flush them out, and I will finally defeat them. I already have a plan."

She looked at him, her face showed hints of sadness. "Your planning to fight fire with fire. The Terran Empire. I had heard from Agent Smith a while ago of your planning."

He waved his fan gently. " It will succeed. We will gain peace again."

She shook her head. "Its going to be a long path…and I know it won't end well. The others, Anna, Q, Castiel, they will begin to doubt you. I can see into them, this is going to change everything. They have faith in you, but once they find themselves pulled into the war that's been minor for so many cycles…Azrael, already I feel complete doubt in a few of the angels that were here before. Did you not sense it? Resha, the Earl…I know his already abandoned you."

"Let him, he shall be defeated like the Chaos Lord."

"This is not a defeat for him. This will be their motivation, their fuel to resist once again. Destinies will be changed, things will change. We must accept that."

Azrael waved his fan, as he turned away from her. " Yes, but it will come to the end as always…and this time, I shall win. This old war will finally end. The betrayal will be gone."

"….but you will not kill him yet."

Azrael was silent, as he turned his head to look at her. She was looking away herself, her hands behind her back. "He is your son. You cannot bring yourself to do it. I know you. You had opened your heart to me."

Azrael stood there, then shook his head. "I'll kill him, when I feel I must."

Azrael soon begun to journey out of the centre of the tree, with Ronni quietly following, as she always has done, and soon, both of them were outside, on the massive branch. It was night time, a clear beautiful starry sky, the moon, full..

Azrael raised his fan slightly, towards the moon. "Today marks the beginning, the beginning of the final act to this war. The final cycle that the Oni will survive in."

Ronni looked at him, as he stood there, and in her mind, she thought. "Azrael. My heart knows I will lose you. This war will cause more suffering then anything we've done before, and you'll find yourself in it…I can see it.

…the darkness…

…the light…

…the broken families…

…the broken hearts…

…the broken blades…

…all because of a Father and Son, refusing to accept one another…

…Azrael and the Chaos Lord…"

* * *

The aftermath of Lysanders capture had sent out after effects across the Multiverse.

The Oni had once again, begun new assaults and plans, led by different people in each universe to combat humanity and those that support Azrael. In the Oni's main universe though, someone had taken command.

Celia.

Her reign had began, to plan her lovers freedom, and to bring forth his escape from the hell they were fighting in. supporting her were their children, and the armies of the Oni. This was a new dawn for them…

But they had new rivals. Ones that would aim for the goal of stopping them at every turn, fighting to crush every single Oni and their supports into a bloody mess. The Terran Empire had been born.

Although it had appeared much, much later, their advance in technology and attitude made them conquer their universe within years, and had quickly begun to spread. They were strict, cold precision, and had the goal of making mankind the ultimate race in the Multiverse.

They were lead by Agent Smith, and a super computer, one that had used the Terran Empires so called 'Emperors' as effective puppets, President John Henry Eden. Combined, they seemed unstoppable.

Agent Smiths role soon became Azraels champion, and he was even given full control of the arch angels. He had power which no other angel could take away…and that made many of them nervous…

Especially the one called Q. the defeat of the Chaos Lord disheartened him, but he was determined to help out the Oni in small ways, without Azrael taking notice. He knew which side was right, and was going to help in anyway he could do, while having some fun in the process. And yet, he couldn't help but feel there was something he needed to do himself, an old score to settle, before he could truly help change things…

The Millennium Earl on the other hand, openly showed his dislike, and defected to neither side. He created his own force, his goal was to defeat both the Chaos Lord and Azrael, which may seem impossible, but anything could happen..

Castiel, Resha and Anna would find themselves locked in a chaotic destiny with three wild cards, that come from outside the Multiverse, three wild cards, which will effect the fate of the Multiverse itself, with them being dragged down into it.

Chuck Norris would stand by Azrael throughout the time, and even fight for him during a displacement of time and space, joining the three wild cards in a battle to stop a new, false Azrael from rising up and wiping out all things in the Multiverse for good. In the Darkrift.

Ronni became a distant ally of Azrael. She took command of her Multiverse after a rebellion against Azrael, and for a long time, severed her connections with him. But time hurt her, and lured her back to his side, creating an uneasy truce between old lovers, all because of the son that Azrael had locked away.

As for Agent Smiths chosen ones, they who fought with the Chaos Lord…Gabriel and Ingrid returned to Universe 10, where they came from, and one of them had to watch over the Azrael Core, keep it with them. Ingrid was chosen.

Gabriel refused to accept this, and in his rage declared a deity war to take the core for himself. He refused to let go of the extra power the core once granted him, the lust for power drove him on. In the end, Ingrid had won the right to keep the core after they both slowly agreed to an uneasy ceasefire after several years of bloodshed of their brethren. Gabriel chose to live on Beyondard, and Ingrid left to hide in the Farside.

Diamas Links life would change forever once he returned to his home planet, as his destiny would lead him to destroy planets, battle the likes of Primus, and come back much later, to take on Primus's descendent…

Kel'Thurzard would go on to create something that would effect everyone, an evil which neither the angels, the Chaos Lord or Azrael himself could control, and after a decisive confrontation with a certain time travelling doctor in Universe 10, he would be reborn as an undead, to continue making the vile evil, then slain by the Primus's descendent, to be recreated into the very essence of the darkness he created…the chaos souls.

As for those that survived the original Oni and Man War…

Zoey and Nick were trapped in Silent Hill, surrounded by creatures that they never saw before, but they weren't alone…other humans from the war had found themselves there as well, and together, they've formed a team to protect themselves against the monsters, in search of a way home…

If there was one…

Threedog had moved into Universe 8, living as a human being on it's nuked world called Fallout. He felt it was his duty to spy on the Enclave, an enemy force working with Azrael, from there, to help give the Oni any information that might help them win the good fight. But he was not alone.

Colin Moriarty had come with him, soon living in a town built on Fallout called Megaton. He had his own bar once again, and for years to come, he ran it, in the evenings, he would rest in his room, looking at the terrible shotgun, remembering the likes of Lysander, Bill and the others…doubt filled his mind as time went on, that nothing would happen, that Azrael would eventually win.

He was just outside his bar, as the sun was setting. He was leaning on some old railing, allowing him to look over the entire town, which was built in one of the, cleaned out, nuked craters.

The place was a mess, everything was made of scrap, it surprised him that the people of the planet were determined to stay on their home, no matter what happens.

Next to him, as he brought out, was an old, just working radio. One of the songs that were playing, were from GNR, the new GNR, formed by Threedog. He was the main DJ there, sending out messages of people fighting the good fight for this world, and courage to keep them going.

Colin lit a fag, and took a puff, as the song played:

"_I don__'__t want to set the world, on, fire__…_

_I just want to start, a flame in your heart__…_

_In my heart I have but one, de-sire._

_And that one is you, no other will do__…_

_I__'__ve lost all ambition, for worldly acclaim._

_I just want to be the one you love__…_

_And with your admission, that you feel the same._

_I__'__ll have reached the goal I__'__m dreaming of__…"_

Colin cursed a little, still looking across the town. "Fucking shit Radio…."

He felt as if Bill should be beside him right now, lighting his own fag, telling him the same thing…so long ago now…but things change.

And as Colin saw, two people had entered the town. Normally arrivals don't bother him, as it means just more money for the business. But this these two, they looked unique. Something about them made him feel…

…not all was lost yet, for this Multiverse.

* * *

Within Universe 10, there was a barren, darkened world.

It held little life, a few insect creatures, trying to survive in an almost desert covered world, ruins of a once civilisation surviving here.

The sun, moon and stars were blotched out by a black ash cloud, that covered the whole world. It was regarded as a forbidden planet, that no one wanted to set foot on unless they wanted to risk their lives every second.

On one part of this world, was a gigantic mountain, black as the void of space above, surrounded by jagged stones, it was a place that the species that were here before feared greatly, and would often leave tribute to try and deter a beast within it.

There was an entrance, high above, leading into the depths of this mountain, into winding stone corridors, several stone mazes…and right in the center, a grand, massive hall, with huge stone pillars, and tons, and tons, of minerals and ores.

Gold, Silver, Ebony, Steel, Iron, Diamonds, Emeralds, Rubies, that was all to a name a few of what was within this place, what also included exotic armours, clothing and weapons, all that held some sort of shine to them, or a jewel that dazzled.

This all belonged to a captive Leviathan, a slave to Azrael, who had no chains to contain the beast, due to, as the cycles went by, the being accepted its fate as the gods smith worker.

Smaug.

Ever since the end of the first cycle, he was placed in this Universe, on this world. His mountain and himself, and the items within, would not be effected with each great erasure. He would see new life come to this world, only to eventually destroy it when its people become too daring to enter his lair.

He was once chained, but now has free reign. He could escape, he could leave whenever he wished. He never does. He only departs when he wishes to find more items for his home, or to remember the taste of flesh. He always returns, he always rests on the piles he creates.

Azrael has often used him to create special weapons or armour for mortals across the multiverse, the only bit of their agreement for his freedom Smaug has to uphold. He rarely gets a visit from Azrael in these later cycles, most of the time it's for the Rave stones, which are red orbs, to merge them with Ferrum, a unique metal that can change shape when combined with Rave stones. He would forge 20 to 30 weapons for Azrael to spread across the 20 Multiverses, and that would often be the end of their meeting.

Smaug didn't expect two other meetings. One was before the fall of Lysander, where he was asked to make a crystal to contain the power of a god…it took him several days, but he forged it.

He forged the Azrael Core.

The second meeting was over four hundred thousand years later.

Azrael brought along with him this time, Castiel, Gman and Resha.

Smaug had been resting on several piles of gold coins, of different currencies and shapes, when they arrived, he slowly awoke himself, rising up onto his legs and wings, looking down at all four. "In. You have brought more then yourself for once. I did not expect your Zaam Zun's to join you. Perhaps you wish to try and execute me? If so, what reason?"

"…So it is true father. You really do keep a Leviathan in this Universe." Gman had held his briefcase, looking up at the face of Smaug with a face that showed he was impressed.

"Do not be concerned Smaug. They are merely here to assist me in finding a material worthy of a new weapon. A weapon that I want to implement in the destinies to come." Azrael calmly explained, waving his fan over his face.

"A new weapon hmm? I'm surprised you would make anything new like that, the last few cycles have been quite the routine. The Blade of Darkness of Primus, the Dark Staff of Fenir, the War Hammer of Thor, the mechanical Lance of Odin. What else could you possibly need."

"A weapon for the next generation of the Fenir bloodline. I feel it is time they deserve a better chance, for when the next hero of the primus bloodline comes along. When the Chads, come."

Smaug looked away, disinterested. "You have the staffs. Use them as you always do. I do not need to waste my time."

"You dare to turn away from our father after his direct request to you?" Castiel took a few steps forward, looking at the Leviathan.

Smaug looked to him, his eyes glinting as he faced the angel. "I have accepted many of his requests before, and rejected several as well. I am the master forger of those magical items you see across your Multiverse, 'Angel'. Do not cross me, and do not dare step beyond Azrael…I will gladly take it as a challenge."

Azrael then made sure to stay ahead of Castiel, as he spoke once more. "I feel my request is important enough. May my angels look to see what we could forge the weapons from?"

Smaug focused his eyes on Azrael, and slowly, lowered his head down, to the point his maw was on level with the god. "If you really wish them to, very well. But do not blame me if they are not as competent as you or myself in finding the right material."

With that, the angels separated, looking through the ores, the jewels, the strange objects that Smaug had collected over time. As they were doing this, Azrael sat on and leaned on one of the piles of gold, close to the Leviathan, as Smaug talked to him. "So, why? You were always alone before, why allow them entry now?"

Azrael waved his fan, in his normal calm, collected manner. "I have chosen to because the first weapon made, will go to Gman, as it will be this Universe I want to stray from the normal destiny. I want this descendent of Fenir to have the greatest chance, and I feel he will find the right materials to make the weapon for the duty."

"And the other two?"

"…Merely to keep you at bay, should you try and attack Gman."

Smaug snorted out a little. "Attack an angel before its god? That's quite amusing."

"…Shinryu has done it before. In the cycle previous. Mister Burke, an angel of this Universe was killed by him while I was attempting to corner that Leviathan myself. He escaped."

"So he lives then…" Smaug sounded surprised at this news.

There was several tense minutes of silence, before Smaug noticed the fan waving back and forth. "I see that is still in good condition. What of the necklace I made for your, 'lovely' lady?"

Azrael remained silent.

"Oh? Having trouble are we? My most sincere apologies, oh great and wise god, perhaps next time you would pick those you mate with, more wisely." Smaug laced all that with sarcasm, something Azrael noticed, but paid no heed to.

"Leviathan! Father! I have found an item I think we can use!" It was Resha.

Smaug easily turned himself to face where the female angel was, and begun moving over, as did Azrael, towards the several huge piles of Silver objects and items. She was standing at the largest pile, right beside it, holding onto a decent sized silvery orb, which seemed to be a slight struggle for her, even despite being an angel.

Smaug seen shocked at what she held, quickly leaning towards her, making her step back a little, as he spoke, in a shocked, angered tone. "That. That is…! I buried that deep in the largest piles of silver! How did you find it!?"

This made Castiel and Gman come over as quickly as possible, worried that Smaug might attack her, hearing his voice throughout the massive hall. Resha answered him, holding the item close to her chest. "I was drawn to it...I was just looking at the pile, thinking to myself...and, I kept hearing a faint whisper. I focused on that whisper, using my powers to pull it out, and this is what came through. This, orb."

Smaug's anger quickly depleted. The shock remained though. "He spoke to you?" slowly, he lifted his head up, towering above Resha, Castiel, Gman and Azrael, as they all gathered together. "He called to you, and you managed to reach out and grab him…He hasn't spoken for several cycles."

"He?" Castiel asked.

"Yes. A spirit of dark power. I found him a very, very long time ago, and added him to my collection. We would often talk of the current events, of the Multiverse, but as I said, he fell silent, and I buried him under the silver, suspecting he had simply faded away. Vul Grohiik is what I have come to call him, the name he has accepted."

Azrael looked to the orb. "Vul Grohiik?…A Leviathan name. What does it mean in our tongue?"

Smaug looked away from them all, appearing as if he was looking beyond the walls of his home, his mind elsewhere for a moment. "…Dark Wolf. He has the power to absorb souls, and use them. If he has reacted to you then…He will be perfect for the weapon."

"Father, I'm not so sure about this." Castiel quickly warned. "Something tells me this is orb is unsafe. It's dangerous."

Azrael paid no heed, looking to Gman. "Do you find the idea of a soul absorbing weapon satisfactory?"

Gman nodded. "A light, two handed blade would be the ideal weapon I would like from it."

The god then walked over to Resha, and grabbed the orb, with one hand, just managing to hold it…something then clicked in his head. It felt familiar. It felt like the soul within was connected to something he knew of before. He chose to ignore the feeling, and lifted the orb up, using his powers, to float towards Smaug, who focused on it now.

"YOL, HAAL HEIM!" Smaugs voice boomed throughout the hall, as a huge jet of blue flame launched from his mouth, engulfing the orb entirely, and making it seemingly disappear from view.

Then, a blade, a claymore like weapon, with a black hilt, fell from the flames, landing on a pile of jewels that Smaug was standing close to, his head right above them…then another blade, and another, and another…soon, there were twenty blades, all of them piled down on the ground, steam, still blowing off them, once red hot, now cooled and complete.

Smaug, now finished with his Thu'um, looked to the blades. "I have completed them, but, only one holds the true soul of Vul Grohiik. I am…unable…to replicate him. Perhaps a god as powerful as yourself, Azrael, can create fakes within each blade, at least to give the other descendents of Fenir across the Multiverse a little better chance."

"…Where is the original?" Azrael asked.

Smaug looked to Resha, and noticed right away, her eyes were fixated on one of the swords. "He calls to her still. Strange, it is not to serve her I believe, but because out of all of us, she, is different. Aan Kiin Jul, Ni Leviathan Med Daar Zaams Voth Fin Sahlo 'Bormah'."

Resha stepped over, and grabbed the blade that whispered to her, passing it over to Azrael. He focused on it, connecting to the soul within…it was distorted, damaged, ripped, as he felt, but it was seemingly stable, and sentient. With his powers, a brief wave of white energy shot out of the blade, spilt into nineteen streaks of light, connecting to the other swords, before fading away.

Resha felt it right away, all the other swords were trying to whisper to her, to try and connect to her. They were nothing compared to the dominate one Azrael was holding, now had passed to Gman, who smiled whilst holding it up towards the ceiling. "It is an excellent blade father. I shall make sure the descendent in this Universe finds it when it is time."

Azrael gave a small smile, before looking to Castiel and Resha. "Collect them, and send one to each Universe, pass them to the deities in each, let them know of who must find the weapons."

Smaug meanwhile, had moved away from them, heading back over to his piles of gold, laying himself back down…a smirk forming on his face. 'Vul Grohiik' was active again…a storm must be coming. One that will effect them all.

And as Smaug was hoping, it will be in his favour.

* * *

Notes:

1. The FULL details of the incident between Lysander and Agent Smith will be concluded in Keyblader Chad's story, soon to make its comeback!

2. Kel' Thurzard is the misspelling of Kel'Thuzad that I used throughout the main story before I noticed I cocked up. Instead of correcting it, I left it the same. His appearance is not based of his WOW appearance, but instead on Rugal from King of Fighters.

3. Gabriel is based off Gill from Street Fighter Three. Ingrid is…Ingrid from the Street Fighter series.

4. Diamas Link is a self created guy. His role will be more flushed out like the other three in the novel, which I'll return to once the small simple 4th chapter of this backstory is done. A little conclusion. Then later this will be continued, as a new backstory unfolds, of the chosen four.


	6. Negative Multiverse

It had been no more then a day after the loss of her child…

She was heart broken.

To seal their own child away like that. To attack him viciously, to use Agent Smith…

Floating in a starry abyss, looking down to a world that appeared to look like Earth, but, as it were when it was all one continent. A Beyondard. Universe 8's Beyondard at that, was the woman with blue skin, her hair a medium, straight length, and deep sea blue, her eyes, their iris's dark purple, and if seen in darkness, stars, could be seen in her eyes, no matter where. Her lips, an icy blue colour. She was in a navy blue mini dress, a golden necklace with a faint light blue glowing stone, her white long sleeve gloves and blue high heeled shoes…and at this moment, black, forbidding angel like wings on her back, made of energy…

The 'Mother' of the Multiverse, a Goddess to her own, but an angel to Azrael in this one, was saddened…

Ronni.

* * *

When Azrael created the Multiverse, it's suns, moons, worlds, life, a dark shadow loomed over all of them. There was a balance in play, of the energies of 'Positive', natural energies formed at the birth of all life, and 'Negative'…Corruption.

With each world and lifeform he created, Negative energy was made, with no shape, no form in itself, it simply latched onto Azrael, with no direction or objectives, it simply was. When Azrael chose to make the angels, having thought of what shape their bodies would be, what would come after them, the first one that came into being, was from all that built up, powerful force that had waited on him…with her creation, the Negative force had a reason to be. To be a mirror, of what Azrael had made.

The Negative Multiverse, along with Ronni, came into being.

Azrael, the great owl, as he was, was shocked at Ronni's power. She was a mirror of him, her power was that of him, but yet, different…a humanoid, her blue, voluptuous body, naked, her deep blue sea medium length hair quickly forming on her head, her black wings opened up fully as she woke from her birth, knowing what she was, what power she was made from…and even the creation of this other Multiverse.

Azrael rapidly fell for her. Knowing the shape of the being was perfect, as he had thought in his mind, he made other angels, all being of the same energy as him, unlike her. It was that unique energy she emitted as she watched that attracted him so. Eventually, after mankind was made, and all of his angels but her left to begin their mission of watching these new beings, he made himself a human shaped body, to get closer to his first angel.

Together, they watched over what was going on in the Multiverse. She helped Azrael summon the figure of Death, to have him watch over the beings, and grant them an afterlife named the Farplanes. Death accepted the job, with that act of that his done all this before, something that threw Ronni off about them actually making him. She felt they just called him to their side to hire him. He already existed before.

She soon shrugged that feeling off, when something else occupied her mind. Azrael felt he required a child…

He wanted to mate with her, to make a true child, not just one crafted simply from his hands. She accepted his offer, and felt honoured, as they bonded, and a new life was made within her womb.

The life that would eventually become Lysander.

During his life within the garden, where he was made to stay, every night, she would visit him, in the form of a woman made of pure diamonds, no face, but when touched by him, she was not cold or rough, but soft, and warm, as Azrael refused himself and her to allow Lysander to see their actual forms, and to see him as he is awake, choosing to isolate themselves rather then interact directly. She wanted to see her beautiful child grow into a man, and every night, would sing to him softly, stroking his hair, making sure he was warm, and had pleasant dreams every night, scaring away his nightmares and fears, if only for several hours.

Azrael was not pleased with this, but allowed it nonetheless, to keep his spouse happy. Eventually, she informed him that she could feel something else call her, another place…which turned out to be the Negative Multiverse, which had nothing watching over it, as the energy simply did it's own job, creating humanity, copies of those in existence, and life alike. She soon begun shifting between dimensions, the Negative Multiverse, which came to be called in most beings eyes as 'Chaotic Space' and the Positive Multiverse. One, she was just an angel and lover to Azrael…the other, she became its god, controlling and organizing it, slowly making it different from the Positive realm.

But every time she knew it was night on Beyondard 8, in the Positive Multiverse, during this cycle, she would leave her duties to watch over her child.

The child that became a man, and fought his Father over the people he wanted to protect and lead to a better life.

When the son escaped his grasp, Azrael blamed Ronni's Negative power for the man's defiance, and her constant watch over him as he slept, saying that she was the reason he felt lonely as he was awake, and wanted freedom. Ronni accepted the blame. She did not wish to anger her lover anymore then he was.

When the Third cycle came to being, her Multiverse was also effected, forced into this new cycle. She knew then, of the connection fully, as she decided to look to one world of the Positive, and of the same planet, but within the Negative…

The Lifestream's of both, were linked, like a chain. The red, fiery energy of a Negative planet, weaved in and out of the peaceful, soothing green energy of a Positive world. When a person dies in the Positive realm, their body returns to the planet, as both energies.

In percentage, 95% would be of the Positive Lifestream energy, and a meager, but required 5%, was of the Negative. The Negative part of the energy eventually, by the link, returns to the Negative Lifestream. In return, the exact opposite occurred in the Negative realm. When a person died there, 5% of the energy would be Positive, and thus returned to the Lifestream of the Positive world.

It was a fragile balance, a chain that could be effected badly if there was more of one or the other, and as she learned, if one of the planets, say, Mobius of the Positive realm was destroyed, it's Lifestream would disperse, destroying the chain it had, connected to the Negative version of the planet…the Negative realm's version of Mobius, would rapidly become unstable, and within a matter of days, weeks, or even rarely, months, it would break apart, all life lost.

During the third cycle, the war between the Oni and the Humans of the Positive was under way. Ronni avoided the conflict altogether, as Azrael demanded that she stay away, unless she wanted to make him suspicious of helping their son. She returned to her Negative realm, and decided, in order to keep some kind of control of everything, like her creator and lover, she made her own angels. Unlike Azrael, she simply made 20, one for each universe within the Negative.

While 14 of them kept mostly to their universes and themselves, 6 of them kept visiting her, and even when she went over to the Positive realm, followed her, showing to Azrael that Ronni has made her own children, like him.

One of the six was a woman who stood right by Ronni in most encounters with Azrael, almost as if a bodyguard, always watching his angels, always making sure not a single part of Ronni was ever harmed. A Guardian to a goddess.

Jenova. Her skin a fair white, her hair, long and silver, iris of her eyes, a dull grey, lips pale, on her head she wore a simple, thin, gold made tiara. her clothing was of a shoulder bare and sleeveless grey Qipao, wrist cloths, and grey leather, long legged boots, which went all the way up close to her hip. Her body was beautiful, voluptuous, alluring, firm large breasts, curved rear, long legs, smooth skin, she was personally crafted by Ronni. Her presence kept people in check. Even Agent Smith when he became an angel, was wary of her.

Another was Ronni's answer to Q almost, albeit far more darker in certain tones, but nonetheless, he, Q and the Earl often got along like good buddies. He was the one who made sure that a quick route back to their Multiverse was guarantee, should ever anything go wrong. He was also the source of annoyance to Jenova, as he kept trying to talk his way into her panties, which resulted in her threatening him and getting Ronni to calm them down.

His name, was Sheogorath. A rather aged man, grey hair, straight back with a full beard, wrinkles near his eyes, his eyes that were mostly black, with yellow iris's, and were more in the appearance of demonic then human. his clothes were a purple a gold lined jacket, with golden buttons, dark green trousers and shirt, again, lined all over with gold cloth, he wore on one hand, a golden armguard, and on the other, a dark purple fingerless glove, with a brown armguard.

The next one was a man that appeared in his late 20's, tall, strong build, medium length blond hair, a face of beauty and kindness, fair skin, brown eyes, and wore a complete white suit, from his feet, to his hands, and to his neck, that was covered in golden lacing and allowed him to attach a deep blue, silky cape, that he wore everywhere he went.

This was Shinn, the actual lover of Jenova. They came close since their first encounter. Although Jenova places her mother and her duty above everything, Shin has a special place in her heart, and she always tries to make a little time for them to get together. Shin is dedicated to Jenova, proclaiming to others often about his love and desire for her, and his determination to protect her. He was also known for, unlike his lover, holding Azrael on equal high respect as he did with Ronni, making him a one of a kind Negative Angel to have respect for both.

In Azraels side of the matters, love between angels was dangerously restricted, due to matters between himself and Ronni, while on her side, she allowed her angels to come together if their hearts desired it.

The fourth one in this little group was pretty much Sheogorath's partner in crime, and thus rubbed the right way with the Earl and Q. he had pale skin, neatly gelled black hair, a black moustache covering his top lip. he always wore a black tuxedo suit, black sunglasses and often kept a cigarette in his mouth, which emitted a blue glow as he smoked it, proving it wasn't actually the real deal, just for show to give him the image he wants to express to others. Dean Domino was his name, and being a prick to lower lifeforms was his game. He always saw normal beings as unreliable and untrustworthy, never being able to feel like he could trust one. He would be friends with Uriel, if they weren't at odds due to the fact Dean sees the Azrael angels, bar the very few, in the same light as the normal beings.

The fifth in this little band was called Raiden, a master of the element of thunder and lightning, his forte. He was seen as the magician of the angels, always using magic and having sparkling light flow around him. He was cautious towards all of Azrael Angels, often citied them as extremists, believing they were more dangerous then anything else in the known Multiverse.

The final one of the six was Thanos. Ronni's answer to a powerhouse. He was in the same mind as Raiden when it came to Azrael's angels, but he took it step further by trusting none of the angels of the Negative Verse either. His faith was solely in Ronni. If she were to die, he would no doubt take it upon himself to wipe out whatever killed her, and the angels of both the Negative and Positive being 'additional casualties.'.

As the Third Cycle slowly came to an end, and the fourth cycle began. Ronni returned with these specific six, to the Positive realm in order to see the damage done. She noticed that the Oni were still alive, that their existence continued, and she felt that there was a third party of angels now.

Lysander's own angels. Feeling this, she felt proud of him, but at the same time, saddened, for as she felt Azrael's rage flowing across the Multiverse about their existence, and something more. Lysander had vanished from his sights, banishing himself from the Oni, and drifting throughout the Multiverse.

Ronni had begun her attempts to calm Azrael down, reminding him that with Lysander's self banishing, the Oni would keep to themselves, cease to be a major threat without him. Azrael listened to her words, but by the 5th cycle, he had abandoned them. The Oni were still as strong as ever, continuing their war with humanity, following what they knew from the dead echoes of Lysander's reign.

* * *

It was during this cycle that Ronni found out amore about Lysander…She was simply visiting one of the many worlds under Azraels care, one that was named Zebes, Universe 8. She was just outside one of the planets major jungles, sitting on a boulder, as the night sky was over her. With her, was two of her angels, Sheogorath and Jenova.

She has been quietly thinking as to what to say to Azrael now. To calm his anger. She knew the Oni would just do what Lysander left them with, and his angels didn't seem to want to change their minds. She simply didn't like the idea of the ghost of 'that' war living on.

Sheogorath, holding his staff with both his hands, leaning on it as he was close to the boulder, decided to speak. "You know what you need mother? One of my parties. Not one of the regular ones either oh no no. You need one of my more gory fun time ones. Exploding pieces, poisons filling the bodies, wild orgies and violent sex! That'll brighten up your mood perfectly."

…Yeah his idea for good parties weren't made for mortal beings, but they were always the major part of it…aka the victims of it all. Normally only one, two or none of them would survive the blood bath.

Ronni smiled at him, and shook her head. "It's nice of you to suggest my son, but I just need time, that's all."

Jenova turned towards Ronni. "Mother. You should just allow them to fight. Humanity and the Oni need the war, regardless of their development and changes. it's a natural thing. To change that would do damage to a balance that's been made."

Ronni didn't respond. Instead it was another voice, one that Sheogorath knew quite well. It had come from next to Ronni. "Oh that's what some of father's angels say too Jenova. But it's not true. It's not a balance at all. We could do without the bloodshed made by it."

Sitting next to Ronni, appearing in a bright flash, was Q, in a Starfleet Captain's uniform. "Wars don't always need to happen you know. Granted bloodshed is a guarantee but it doesn't require things to go all out."

Jenova was not pleased with Q's close arrival to her mother. She wanted to beat the shit out of him, glaring darkly. Ronni noticed and raised her hand to Jenova, signalling to her to remain calm. Ronni looked at Q and gave him a gentle smile. "It's been a good while since you've come to visit."

"I do try to make things a little bit more regular Ronni but father keeps having me do assignments over this new group that's evolved from one batch of humanity called Starfleet in eight of the universes." motioning at the Uniform. "Personally I don't think it'll catch on. It'll vanish by the 6th cycle I think."

"How is Azrael?" Ronni asked.

"Well, still going on, planning his moves against the Oni, their two angels who are being smart on keeping low profiles, and of course, his setting out destines. Did you know his created beings called gods and deities? Lesser gods mind you. Well they're going to handle a lot of these destiny affairs his sorting out. The gods will keep things in check, and the deities go around telling mortals that they have a fancy quest or mission to fulfil in their lives before they die of old age."

"I see…." She slowly looked away from him, looking up to the stars. "You came for a reason, didn't you? Not for idle chat."

Q went a little worried now, not about Ronni or anything, but mostly on what he had to say. "Yes, well, I've been, busy. Can we, ask your two angels here to go for a minute?"

Ronni didn't even look at them. Using her link to her Angels in her mind, Sheogorath heard her and left, and Jenova, after a moment of watching Q, eventually departed as well.

Q then continued, a little bit more relaxed now. "Well that's taken off the worry of what they'll do if they heard me say what I need to…" He looked at Ronni, with a serious look on his face. "Ronni, I've been doing some searching, against Father's wishes and…I've found him."

Ronni was quick to look at him. "Lysander?"

"Alive and, body wise, his fine. His currently in Universe 10, on the planet Gaia II. He looks exhausted Ronni, depressed and tired out. His been either doing some heavy thinking, or some heavy drinking."

"…My Son…"

"You need to go to him Ronni. See him yourself. He needs guidance. I tried to talk to him, I really did, but he can't stop moping. He knows the Oni is doing their own thing, he knows there's been wars still between them and mankind, but he won't listen. I even suggested he makes peace with his father, stop the nonsense. His proven he can stand on his own two feet and doesn't need the old man anymore. But he just said it was too late, blood was spilled, he shattered all hope….granted, knowing father, he would rather kill Lysander then listen to him, but there's a chance still I think. A chance before it's really too late….You need to see him Ronni."

Ronni looked saddened, shaking her head a little. "…I can't. Azrael will not allow it. Nor would he believe I spoke to Lysander for peaceful intentions, should he ever find out."

"But Azrael doesn't know where Lysander is Ronni. This is your chance."

"I can't. The risk is still great."

"Then if you can't see him while his awake. See him in his dreams, in his sleep. Like you done all the time before. He needs your comfort. He needs someone to watch him. If you can't give him good guidance, just let him know your there for him, someone is there for him. He can't keep going by himself for much longer. He might go insane. Even worse, kill himself."

Ronni knew Q was right on that. She knew her son needed her, that much was clear.

When Lysander, on the planet he was on, slept, in his dreams, he heard the humming of his mother once more, her sweet lullaby's. her voice calmed him over the following years, and in him, it gave hope and confidence. He chose that, as would indeed travel on, but instead of being a hermit on each world he visited, isolating himself from the people, he would be more interactive with beings, get to live in their world. Be…'mortal'.

Ronni would visit him every night, no matter what, just to make sure he was fine. No matter what his company was, mostly friends who stayed with him at whatever lodges he had, no sexual mates, she would continue to sing to him sweetly, make sure he had great comfort in his sleep. If there was no cover to keep him warm, he would always find one in the morning, a purple, silk one, covering up to his neck every time.

Sometimes, he would wonder out loud who the woman was, often, when he was sure he was alone, call up to the skies and see if he would get a reply…Ronni refused him one, choosing to avoid direct contact while he was awake…it wasn't no longer the concern of Azrael finding out. It was over the fact of what he would think if he actually saw his mother. Would he be happy to see her? Accept her appearance? Understand that she was a god much like Azrael and him?…hug her, like a human or Oni child would to their Mother?

That, above anything else, was what she wanted from him. Simple acceptance that he knew who she was. She pined for it, but allowed that worry to hold her back over the cycles.

* * *

The 13th Cycle had come.

It started in a rather worrying manner in the Negative Verse.

In each cycle, there was a race of beings that was unique solely to the Negative Multiverse called, the Unversed.

They were fragments of energy formed into the beings they once were of the Positive Realm. From those that held much power or were spilt apart by energy or technology, a fragment of their lifeforce would become these beings that were parallel to them.

Ronni was able to keep a good eye on these thanks to a being she created in several fragments of that same energy called the Symphony Master, the 'Shepherd' to the Unversed. He would keep them all in check, and if they were to go to battle, he would make it even and fair to the races of the Negative Multiverse. If the Unversed won a battle for a city or such, no beings that could not defend themselves would be harmed, and were allowed to leave the city for a nearby one.

In the 13th cycle. A new race appeared.

The Ing.

Violent, dark and evil. They were in small numbers at the beginning of the cycle, attacking a few worlds in each universe. But eventually, it got worse. They soon had planets of their own in each universe, and created orbs out of Negative Lifestreams, out of Negative energy itself called 'Sigil Stones.".

Using these orbs, they created the chaotic cloud, as it was named by the other beings. A purple, thunderous cloud, It covered patches, and eventually, a whole world, bringing a toxic wave of dust particles that nothing but the Ing, and also in time, the Unversed, could breathe safely, and the dust, made from the orbs power, would grant them additional strength. For everything else, the dust would fill their lungs and choke them to death.

One of the species that existed in the Negative Multiverse that died out fully in the Positive, the race known as the Luminoth, relatives to the Chozo race and Species 8472, had created powerful, and lethal machines, to attack and destroy these Ing forces, but every device they formed, an unknown being, removed them from Ronni's Multiverse, and sent to the Positive.

Why? It was not known, but Ronni felt despair, as the Ing remained in her Multiverse, formed of a power she recognized as what she was partly made of, what this Multiverse of hers was made of. Negative energy…Corruption.

Her angels eventually took to the field themselves, when the Ing tried to leave their homeworlds that they claimed. Of the 20, Jenova stood out. She would not care what Universe it was, she would be there, waiting for the Ing to land on the planet they tried to invade, and begin destroying them, all in Ronnis name.

Her ultimate devotion to Ronni eventually granted her the title of 'Angel of the Lady's Vengeance.' from her brothers and sister angels.

With her, the Ing were kept in place, and for Ronni, she felt peace, and as always, returned to her duty of watching her son…

Till that day he found her. He found his calling. His love.

Ronni had felt the presence of an Azrael Shrine Guardian close to her son one night, and feared that Azrael had sent the human. She had watched closely, as he opened himself to the woman, explained to her what he was, who he was, and even, to Ronni's horror, allowed her to see his past, she could sense what he did.

What shocked her more was the fact the woman understood him, and even told him to be….free…

Ronni left them that night. For many, many years, she simply stopped seeing Lysander. Q visited now and then, and told her about what he was doing, what he had done to the world Azrael once had, Earth of Universe 8...

The Oni noticed, and their movements eventually caught the attention of some of the Arch Angels…Ronni didn't want them to inform Azrael, and had made an important, and risky decision…she sent Jenova, to dispose of any Arch Angels that were watching the Oni forces, those that she could…

Not all of them were accounted for though. As Lysander created the palace of power, the Power Glove, three Arch Angels had detected his power, and begun to track him…Ronni knew Jenova was too late to stop these ones, and instead, in a bold action, she decided to try and warn someone…someone close to Lysander…

* * *

It was Night. The palace of power was at rest. Celia though, was not. She was heading to go outside, just to sit and look at the stars, to think of everything that had been going on, and of the boy that had visited them…Blue.

It was as she walked down one of the many corridors, she noticed a blue skinned woman standing near one of the walls, leaning on it, eyes closed…Ronni. The moonlight reflecting on the floor of the corridor, the low light, it all made it seem like it, to a normal being, like it was just a ghost. Celia slowly came to a stop near the woman, and noticed by appearance alone, she wasn't a human… "…And who just might you be then? If you're here to see Neo, his resting."

Ronni shook her head slowly…opening her eyes, looking at Celia. "Neo? Is that the name his taken on now?"

Celia was alerted by that, and the voice, it sounded, so damn familiar, but not from her memories... "…What?"

"Please, do not be alarmed. I am…not here under Azrael's command. His father."

Ronni moved off the wall, her gentle voice alone was calming Celia. " I am Ronni. And you are Celia. A fallen guardian of the shrine to Azrael."

Celia slowly nodded. "And Wife to Lysander, if you must know, Ronni."

Ronni chuckled a little. "Wife? So my senses didn't deceive me…the sense of Grandchildren…your immortality…"

Celia looked confused for a moment, but looking into Ronni's eyes, she soon came to the realization of who this was, and where she got the memories from. "You…you're the crystal created lady in his dreams…the lady who sings to him…"

Ronni nodded. "I am that woman he sees. I am…his mother."

"His…mother?"

"Listen to me, Celia. You must tell him to abandon this world. This world with you, and the children. Time is against you. Azrael knows."

"…Like we knew he would Ronni. It was going to happen sooner or later."

"Please. Leave this idea, this world behind. Hide back in the Universe where the Oni have control. You'll be safer there. You have beings between you and Azrael. Here your trapped."

Celia shook her head, looking a little annoyed at Ronni. "Your telling me we're going to fail, and we should hide...why can't you tell your own son? Why are you telling me this?" Anger soon came into her voice. "His your son Ronni. Your Son. He doesn't even know he has a mother at all. As far as he knows his got Azrael. Why don't you finally meet him? Or even better, help him now, when he really needs you then? I know you've helped in during his days as a wonderer, kept him with a sane mind, calmed him and all that but, for the love of, he needs support! Actual support from his mother!"

Ronni looked saddened, turning away from Celia for a moment. "…I can't show my face to him...Show him the woman who cursed him with power that Azrael can't control…"

"You can't keep hiding away from him."

"I have to. For my sake. And for his. If I could die without him knowing my existence, I would be happy."

"You coward." Celia responded, more angry now. "Your afraid of standing up to Azrael, letting Azrael know you love your son."

Ronni looked at her slowly. "We both love him very much, Azrael and I…I know he still loves our son, but I still love Azrael, and I do not wish to endanger the trust we have together anymore then I am."

"Stop hiding in fear Ronni! Your Lysander's mother! Be proud! Azrael is just controlling you with terror, like he does with everything!"

The look Ronni gave Celia made her stop. Ronni gave a glare, a darkened glare the moment Celia said 'terror'. "Do not, speak of Azrael like that. He does not use terror. Order is what he tries to make. I am not afraid of Azrael. It is not terror he makes. I do not wish to destroy this hope of a reunited family, that is all."

Celia was baffled. "Hope of…you seriously think there's a chance Azrael, you and Lysander can all be a happy family again? That's why you keep your head low in all this? Azrael is out to kill, Ronni! Wake up! He doesn't want it to be all back the way it was again! He wants his son out of the picture!"

"…I am not sure that is what he wants…"

"Your not sure? Tch, well then perhaps your son's death or even imprisonment might make you realize what Azrael really is…" with that, Celia crossed her arms. "We're not leaving here Ronni. We're staying. This is our home, our world."

Ronni went silent with that…then, she simply faded away in Celia's view, who eventually continued on, but Ronni's warning did worry her deep inside, and she knew she had to say to Lysander about the possibility that everything might go pear shaped…

* * *

Ronni was now in the great tree, of Beyondard in Universe 8. Standing close to Azrael, in his grand owl form. With them, was Anna, Resha, Q, Chuck Norris, Agent Smith, The Earl and Castiel.

"-And how are we going to stop the Chaos Lord? His power easily tops any of us. Remember what he did to that Leviathan all the way back in the 3rd cycle? Giratina, one of ones Azrael brought forward after the first cycle? The mess was horrendous!" the voice was of Q, as the Arch Angels had arrived about 10 minutes ago, informing Azrael and the angels that they had found Lysander.

Azrael looked down upon his angels after hearing Q, his golden eyes glowing at them. "Although the Chaos Lord is indeed powerful enough, not, to be slain by any of you, there is a way to capture him. To imprison him. I have created a device, a massive diamond called, the Core. I had it ready for when the day came that we would find the Chaos Lord. It has much of my power stored within it. If we can weaken the Chaos Lord, with the Core at the ready, we can trap him in a dimensional prison. Away from the Oni, away from his allies. We can then solely focus on wiping the Oni out, before I decide when, I want to dispose of him."

Chuck then spoke up. "Then the problem is that we need to weaken the Chaos Lord. Father, allow me to go and deal with him. I am one of your most capable children."

Castiel shook his head, looking serious as always. "No. Father, if Chuck goes, I will go with him. He cannot do this alone. Doing so is too risky on his life, I can't allow that."

Q smiled, giving the Earl a nudge. "So, gonna declare you'll go on this mission to take the giant diamond to the Chaos Lord? Or laze it out like me?"

The Earl smirked. Meanwhile Anna spoke about Castiel and Chuck going. "Father I must go with Castiel, to make sure his okay. The Chaos Lord is a very dangerous enemy."

Resha then joined in. "Better make it a part of four then Anna, because your not leaving without me. The four of us should be perfectly able to weaken him."

They heard laughter. Mocking laughter, coming from Agent Smith. "Do you really think that will work? The Chaos Lord will expect that, he will easily take on any angels you throw at him!"

Boy did Chuck not look happy at this, and nor did Anna. Smith turned, and looked to Azrael. "…I suggest, we send myself, and outsiders. People with unique, strong power who are not angels, beings that the Chaos Lord will not expect. I will do most of the fighting, but with the unexpected on our side, the Chaos Lord will never know what hit him, and, with your core, father, you can enhance their powers. What do you think?"

Azrael looked at him carefully, then to the other angels. Castiel decided to respond to it first. "Smith. The very idea of dragging outsiders into this, it's foolish. This is a matter for us to handle. No one else."

Q put his feelings into this. "I must agree with Cassy on this Smith. Outsiders aren't going to be worth much really when up against the Chaos Lord. This is an angel matter, it should stick with us angels. We're beings of the higher plains to those people. What'll it look like if we decided to hire hitmen mortals to take out our sworn enemy hmm?"

Azrael had then spoke. "I have decided. We will go with Smith's idea. Smith, I will allow you to personally go and pick the outsiders you want. I will allow them access to my power from the Core to aid them in the battle against the Chaos Lord."

Agent Smith nodded, smiled happily with this news, and vanished, and shortly afterwards, so did Chuck, Castiel, Q and the Earl. Anna and Resha were about to go, when Ronni spoke. "Resha? May I speak to you please?"

Resha was surprised with this, but nodded. "Of course Lady Ronni. Anna, I'll see you later, alright?" Anna smiled at her, and vanished.

Azrael could feel that Ronni wanted to speak to Resha alone, looking at the blue skinned woman. "I will depart back to universe 10 for the moment to monitor that Beyondard, I will return shortly." with that, he slowly walked out of the great tree, climbing onto one of the branches, opening his wings, and setting off.

Resha looked slightly worried. It was Ronni's eyes, like they were looking right through her. And when Ronni spoke, it confirmed it. "You knew this meeting was coming."

"..How did you even…"

"I could see it, as you stood there with your sister. That look that you knew this dreadful day would come."

Resha was surprised with Ronni saying that. "Dreadful? The fall of the Chaos Lord?"

"He doesn't deserve to be trapped and sealed away. But Azrael wants it to happen. I can only hope the Chaos Lord will be able to resist and get away from Smith and his minions."

Resha was now getting confused. Ronni was one to normally back Azrael up with the whole Chaos Lord thing. "L, Lady Ronni…do…do you feel sorry for him?"

"…I feel regret, Resha. That is all. If the Chaos Lord is captured…I do not know what I'll feel afterwards, what I'll do…towards you all, and mostly, to Azrael…"

"Ronni…"

Ronni looked away from Resha afterwards, saddened slightly. "Please, go to your sister now. I just wanted to confirm what I felt off you."

Resha was about to turn away and teleport, but stopped for a moment, before looking back to Ronni again. "Lady? I, was informed by a traveller. He was, very cryptic, saying about destiny, and all of us being in a game…he said about this happening. He said he was corruption embodied."

Ronni looked at her carefully, then closed her eyes. "Hm. Corruption embodied. I see. This traveller must've been a powerful oracle, or, a traveller that flows through time. Thank you for letting me know."

She heard Resha leave. Then thought about those two words.

Corruption Embodied.

Death was one that would visit her often in the Negative Verse, and he told her about the fact he had seen the very beginning, and spoke about Corruption before…a power that her Multiverse lived on with. She told him it was called Negative energy, but he was firm on calling it corruption energy. Azrael warned her to just ignore Death's ramblings, and even reminded her that they created him. Death said he wasn't made…he felt the beginning soon to start, and as his previous Multiverse ended, he came to see about this one.

She believed him over Azrael.

As the next day passed, Ronni waited in the great tree. She, in her mind, was in a locked battle. She was fearing for her child. She could feel something was amiss, to his family and himself, but another part of her told her she can't go to his aid. She must obey Azrael, and reassured her that Lysander will get away. He knows better to flight then fight nowadays against Azrael, surely…She waited for news, news of the Chaos Lord. By the late evening of the northern segment of this world, Azrael had returned in his great owl form, and within mere minutes of his return. Agent Smith had appeared…

And gave Azrael and Ronni news, that shattered her heart.

Lysander had been imprisoned.

Soon, Agent Smith departed, proud of what he had done. She looked to her lover. "The Oni will know…this will bring war."

Azrael, transformed into his Human form, wearing a one piece white outfit, with one black and one white gloves on, green shoes, with long black hair, with a moustache and beard, holding a mostly white feathered fan, with some of the feathers in the centre being light blue, with a golden handle to it. He spoke in a calm, calculated voice. "I know. I expected it would. This will flush them out, and I will finally defeat them. I already have a plan."

She told him she knew of the Terran Empire, she knew that there was doubt within the ranks of the angels. Told him that destinies of mortals and even them will change, and pointed out that Lysander's capture will simply drive the Oni into a bloody war.

But his confidence in this showed his colours. He believed everything would now go his way, that this was the turning point. The old war of man and Oni will end, and the betrayal that started it all, come to a close.

Ronni, reminded him that he hadn't killed Lysander, because he couldn't, because it was his son. But Azrael claimed he would. In time. Ronni felt, after such a long time in her life. Anger. Despair and Anger for what Azrael had done, what he was doing now.

They stepped outside together, onto one of the large branches, easily able to hold a group of humans, and he pointed his fan up to the starry sky above, and said that this marked the beginning of the final act of the war…of the Oni.

Ronni looked to him, a single tear dripping down her face, in her mind, she thought. 'Azrael. My heart knows I will lose you. This war will cause more suffering then anything we've done before, and you'll find yourself in it…I can see it…the darkness…the light…the broken families…the broken hearts…the broken blades…all because of a Father and Son, refusing to accept one another…Azrael and the Chaos Lord…'

* * *

….

"…And I won't let it continue."

That last part, she spoke. Azrael lowered his fan, and turned around to look at her, slightly puzzled.

Then he felt it. Around her, appeared a deep purple aura, and behind her, out of her back, formed black angel like wings, made of pure energy, as she simply looked to the ground at first, then slowly looked at her lover.

"Azrael. You have taken our child away from us. Our child born from our love. Trapped him like an animal. I can't accept it. I won't accept it. Celia…Celia was right. I have to stop hiding from you, hiding in your shadow, listening to you plot and ramble on about how evil our son is, when your no better then him."

Azrael looked at her, the puzzlement in his face soon vanishing, and suddenly flaring up around him, a white, holy like aura, his human eyes turning golden, the entire clothing he wore turned white, and even the hair, beard and moustache he had changed to white as well, his hair grew three times as long, his powerful, god aura being felt across the entire planet. He looked at Ronni, calm as ever. "Ronni. Do not betray me. I will not forgive you, nor look at you again after this."

"…That, is fine."

With that, they both found themselves created powerful energy beams, hers of a dark, black nature, his, a white, holy one. The beams fired left, right and center, as the tree was torn asunder by their power, both of them soon enough, flying around it, launching their attacks. Ronni and Azrael were not on equal power. Azrael was slightly more powerful between them, being her creator, but she is on a level that she could wound him if he wasn't careful.

Soon enough, Azrael had to quickly dodged several lance shaped black energy shots, fired from Ronnis hands, and all of them hitting the ground, blasting a huge segment of the base trunk of the tree apart. Azrael countered by raising his hands to the sky, and rapidly above, a black cloud formed over them and the tree, and raining down on him and Ronni, were hundreds upon hundreds of small energy beams, pouring down like rain, in numerous colours and elements.

Ronni folded her wings around her, the energy created from them stopped any beams hitting her, while Azrael, seeing this as a chance, quickly begun charging up in his hands, a white spirit bomb, ready to toss it towards Ronni. The Goddess was too busy focusing on holding off the energy beams to notice, and soon suddenly felt the powerful ball of energy strike her, engulfing her, causing her to scream out in pain, as she was sent spiralling downwards towards the ground, her wings were unable to block that attack, and as she was exposed, the small energy beams kept continually striking her as she fell.

The rain of energy stopped as she got close to the ground, and expected herself to hit it…when she felt someone catch her in their arms. She noticed she was 3 feet off the floor, the being that had her was standing on the ground…and it was Dean Domino, with his blue glowing cigarette in his mouth. "Huh, talk about catching a falling angel, eh Mother?"

The moment Ronni released her power, he felt it, in the Negative Multiverse. He felt her anger, and knew something was going down big time. Right now she slightly frowned at him, not that amused, but indeed, thankful for stopping the hard landing she would've got.

Soon enough, Azrael had flown down, landing a good thirty feet away. "Dean Domino. One of her Angels. If you stand by her still, I will destroy you too."

Dean gently put his mother down, making sure she was on her feet, before stepping in front of her, shielding her from Azrael. "Yyyaah. You see Azrael, that's a lit-tle problem for you because, if you kill me, there's 19 other angels to take my place. And not one of us are a bit too happy with you right now…"

Appearing close to him, become a crowd set between Azrael and Ronni, were Jenova, Sheogorath, Thanos, Shin, Raiden, and the other 14 angels of the Negative Multiverse, all coming by the sensing of their goddesses Anger and power surge. A call to arms, as far as they were concerned.

Azrael remained calm. This was going to be test of his ability alright. His taken on the odd stray, rebel angel, who lost their senses and attacked, but this was a group of sane, and determined angels, made of energy that was from a shadow of this Multiverse.

But he was not alone for long, as he felt the arrival of one of his own angels…Smith had returned, slowly walking up besides Azrael. "Father. I see there's a rebellion going on. I felt your power and came to see what is the matter. I informed my brothers to stay put."

Jenova got her fists ready. "Bad move Smith. We're here to take out Azrael in place of Ronni. We can sense what she wants, we know what we have to do! If you stand in our path, you're dead!"

Smith simply chuckled a little. "Unfortunately, miss…Jenova, was it? I can't let you harm Father…and although I may not have the backing, of angels…"

He clicked his fingers. And behind him and Azrael…20 Arch Angels appeared, all in their black suits, with black sunglasses, all looking almost the same, just silently waiting for his command. Smith turned towards Azrael. "Father, please move back a little. I can dispose of this rabble."

Azrael nodded, and simply took several steps backwards, the Arch Angels stepping aside for their lord, and as he went back, they all stepped forward, slowly towards the group of angels, as Smith stood and watch, a smirk slightly forming on his face.

Ronni was worried, seeing the amount of Arch Angels. Their special ability of gaining power the more there is of them in one location, with so many here, they were a deadly force. "My Children, we must get out of here. We can't stand up to them."

Dean was now in the same mind, his brave face gone when he saw the Arch Angels appear. "That's sounds like a great idea, how about it gang?"

Jenova glared at him, then looked to her Mother behind. "Mother…We won't run. Today we will stand up to him. Stand up to the being who looked down upon you and your child!"

Sheogorath had his staff at the ready. "But we can't let Ronni be in danger lass. Maybe we ought to get her out of here before the bloodshed starts up."

Jenova had to agree with that part. "Sheogorath, Dean, Thanos! Get her away from here and back to Chaotic Space! They won't follow you there! We'll fight them and keep them busy!"

"No Jenova. You won't succeed. Please, we must all go!" Ronni pleaded. But it fell on deaf ears. She saw Dean and Sheogorath get close to her, while Thanos got behind them, and opened a vortex to their Multiverse.

Ronni looked at Dean. "Please, tell her we have to get away. Azrael is too protected!", she then looked to Sheogorath. "Please, tell her-"

Sheogorath, for once in his many, many years, turned serious. "Your what's important to us Ronni…and we gotta carry out your mission, but without you being in danger."

"My mission? My Son, I haven't even said why I've turned against-"

"Resha told us lass. She told us everything, she told us about the trap set for Lysander, for what Azrael was going to do…we were waiting for your power to surge up…we need to go."

Ronni had little choice…Dean and Sheogorath grabbed her, quickly shoving her into the vortex, with Thanos following suit, closing it afterwards, just as the Arch Angels and the Negative Angels clashed in a wave of fists, weapons and energy attacks suddenly.

The battle was named 'the bloody angels battle' amongst the angel kind for a reason…the night sky, the twin moons of the planet watched, as puddles of blood, forming, and soon, flowing together, slowly appearing beneath the feet, and eventually, bodies of the fallen…

Each and every attack both Arch Angels and Angels threw, was to kill. Gashes and heavy wounds kept appearing on every living body from powerful attacks, quickly healed before the next moves, the blood from the wounds joining the ever growing lake beneath them all. The determination of the Negative Angels, and the heartless, cold puppet like actions of the Arch Angels collided, and slowly, the battle turned to the Arch Angels favour.

In the middle of it all, there was one Negative Angel, who helped turn the tide to the enemies favour.

Shinn.

As he decapitated an Arch Angel with his hands, creating energy around them and using them as daggers, keeping them flat and straight, slicing the angel to bits, he felt unsure. Azrael had never looked at him like the others. He had made many friends with the angels of the Positive realm, and respected Azrael, bowing to his presence whenever he could. But now, he was fighting Azrael, with his lover Jenova…and he didn't want this, he knew they were now officially on the losing side, after spotting two of the Negative Angels fall, their heads twisted backwards, and massive holes blown right through their chests and backs. He had to do something. He didn't want his lover to die, to suffer like this.

He knew he had to convince her it was all lost now.

As two of the Arch Angels moved towards him, Raiden, the master of lightning magic Angel, stood close to him. "Shinn, we'll attack together! I'll stun them with a wave of electronic energy while you-"

He found the purple energy cover hand of Shinn stabbed into his neck. His blood oozed out, his eyes widened at the sudden betrayal…and Shinn ended his life, by raising his other hand high up, and bringing it down, quickly pulling out his hand from Raiden's neck, as his other hand flew down, slicing Raiden right down the middle vertically, and not completely to the back, cutting only the front side of the angel…he stood for a second, before his guts, and flesh just gushed out from his body, as he fell to the ground.

The Arch Angels knew a defector when they saw one, and passed by Shinn, moving in on the other Negative Angels, and he joined in with them, with the intent to end this quickly.

Jenova had yet to notice him. She was surrounded by four of the Arch Angels, and easily managing to hold them back, having just grabbed one by the arm as it tried to attack her and smashed it's elbow inwards by punching it, with a sickening cracking sound, and the Arch Angel quickly taking a kick at her to make her let go, which she did.

Only to blast him at point blank with a massive light green energy beam, blasting his upper half of his body into bits, and his lower half flying back and smacking into the ground.

The other three quickly moved in on her, and she decided enough was enough. "W-LASER!" she spun round, while holding her hands out, and two deep blue laser beams, one from each palm of her hands, flew out to no more then ten feet, acting like brief, momentarily swords…and slicing all three Arch Angels down, as she turned, into three parts each, head, torso, and legs, blood spraying out of them as they fall apart.

She didn't look to her allies afterwards. Instead, she looked ahead, and saw Azrael…and between her and that target, Agent Smith. She rushed forward, charging towards him. The moment she got close, Smith quickly raised his hands, and with perfect timing, grabbed both of Jenova clenched fists, as she swung them around to punch him in the face and gut. He had to admit, he had a little trouble holding her in place, as his arms and hers were shaking, as she was pushing against him. "Well now, no wonder you hold that title of yours Jenova. 'Angel of the Lady's Vengeance.'. fitting, very fitting, to the most powerful member of Ronni's force."

"Traitor! Traitor to Lysander! He trusted you! You was his close friend and ally once! Just prepare yourself to arrive at oblivion Smith! I'll end you in both Ronnis and Lysanders name! You, along with Azrael!" she shouted angrily.

Smith smirked a little. "You can't defeat me. If Lysander could not, what chance do you possibility have?"

He got his answer. She was starting to push his arms back. He tried to stop it, but even with his focus, it wasn't working. She was angered, deeply, by him being here, and by god, she was going to show it. She suddenly pulled her arms back, yanking him forward as he held his grip on her hands, and violently head butted him, making him let go, and stumble back for a moment.

He quickly looked at were she was, and noticed she had vanished, seemingly, before he looked up, and spotted her high up in the air, light red energy forming in her hands, as she yelled "RED LIGHT!" With that, she clapped her hands together once, and the energy blasted out, dispersing everywhere, making everything, seemingly, turn a red colour for a moment, and eventually go white, blinding them, in everyone's vision, before the energy particles formed back together, while the light was being emitted, around Smith, who made himself teleport away, for as soon as the blinding light faded, the energy exploded, taking out a chunk of the land Smith had been standing on.

Smith reappeared close behind Jenova, charging his own black energy beam to blast right through her body…only for her to teleport, and him, to find himself suddenly having two hands on his shoulders, as Jenova had appeared above him, upside down, looking right at him, her body in the opposite direction of his. She then went downwards behind him, bending her knees as she went, so when she collided with his back, her knees smashed into it, cracking sounds emitting from his spine as she did.

"BLUE FLAME!" she now shouted out, as she held him in place, him trying to get himself to move from that counter attack, before he found himself suddenly engulfed by light, neon blue flames, covering him and Jenova head to foot. The flames hardly effecting her, as she forced her and him, with her power, to begin a rapid dive downwards towards the ground, with Smith as her landing pad pretty much.

It was like a fiery blue comet coming down, and slammed with the same eruption the moment her and Smith made impact with the ground. Smith felt it all, first the fire consuming his clothing, and slightly burning his skin, before the ground smashed into his chest, face and legs, being pushed down into it by this Negative Angel that's taken him on.

The moment of the flames dieing off, the second of calm, came and went, as Jenova lifted her head to sky and screamed "NEGATIVE ULTIMA!"

Her entire body was then swallowed up, by a dark purple energy aura, which emitted also from her eyes and mouth, her hair flowing like it was blowing in the wind, as she held Smith tightly in place in the ground. The Energy soon formed into a gigantic explosion, dome shaped and the same colour as it was formed with, the light from it turning the whole sky above a deep purple, as the dome expanded, the intense energy flowing out from within. The light and explosion caught the attention of Shinn, the remaining 10 arch angels and the 2 Negative Angels that stood in against them.

Azrael was the one who stood the closest to the energy blast, feeling the energy coming out of it, as the dome JUST stopped expanding an inch away from him. He knew this power was great, very dangerous…Unlike him, Ronni felt no need to restricting the power of her champion, keeping it to a controllable level…she overpowered Smith.

And Smith felt it.

Jenova was panting afterwards, as the energy slowly died off, and looked to the body beneath her knees, and soon feet, as she stood up. Smith's fine clothing was in tatters, his skin, damaged, bruised, bleeding all over…she got off him, and moved away slightly, allowing herself a moment to regain her composure. That attack took a lot of strength out of her.

Smith wasn't dead though. He was heard groaning a little, slowly standing up, out of the cracked earth he had been embedded into, his glasses smashed and destroyed, falling to the floor as he got up. He could feel he was in a terrible state, turning to face Jenova, blood dripping out of his mouth a little, and one of his eyes were crushed in, the ground, on impact, had become slightly jagged, and one piece stabbed into his eye. A little bit of black fluid from the dead, penetrated eye was seen down his face, followed by the dribble of blood from where the eye was, his eyelids unable to close, showing the wound fully.

"Your…Your power is impressive, Jenova…" Smith had fully admitted it now. And knew he wasn't as powerful as he believed himself to be. She knocked him down a peg.

But now someone else stepped in. "Jenova, That's enough. The battle is over."

She knew the voice, quickly looking over to where the other Negative Angels were…to see Shinn standing there, with the 10 Arch Angels…and all of the Negative ones, dead. Dead but Shinn. She just stood there, deeply horrified by what she knew he did. "S-Shinn. W, Why are you…?"

"It's over Jenova. Please. We don't have to fight anymore." Shinn pleaded softly to her. To him it was over. Ronni had left, the other Negative beings were slaughtered, and only him and his lover remained of them. He knew if he could convince her now to stop, Azrael would no doubt accept them into his ranks, surely, to forgive Jenova in Shinn's sake…to Shinn, in his eyes, Azrael was a just and kind god like Ronni.

But Jenova face showed how she felt now. "How…how could you! Mother was kind to you! I love you! But to do this to us both! I cannot accept it!"

"Jenova listen to me! You must stop! You proved your strength to Azrael, to those before you! We don't have to continue this!" Shinn was trying to make her see sense, see that she was alone now if she continued this fight.

Smith took his chance to look at Azrael, who motioned at him to leave and recover. Smith looked back to Jenova for a moment, then teleported away…one defeat was not going to stop him. He'll make himself stronger…much stronger…

Jenova glared darkly at Shinn, and got into a battle stance, ready to fight on, regardless of using so much energy at once just now. Shinn was worried at her action, as he noticed Azrael nod to the Arch Angels, who started to gather together, and walk slowly towards Jenova. "Jenova! Please! I don't want to lose you! If you don't surrender, these 10 arch angels, Azrael will-"

Jenova silenced him, as few tears flowed down her face, her heart arching slightly, mostly over Shinn's cowardly choice. "Let, them, come Traitor!"

Shinn and Azrael watched, as the Arch Angels moved in for the kill, suddenly charging at Jenova., all ten of them still connected together, their power at a lethal level which had led to the fall of her brethren…

But she pushed on. Determination drove her. She used several of her energy attacks to knock them away, before they came at her again, and soon made her keep to close combat, punching her, kicking her, twisting her limbs and even stabbing her with their fingers, creating energy on them to piece her skin.

But she fought them. She first managed to decapitate one, removing their head with a powerful kick, then eventually shoved her fist right through the chest of another. The third one to perish stabbed his hands into her stomach, and she attacked back by grabbing the sides of his head, and crushing it violently.

Her fist soon found itself through the face of another, and one of her last able energy blasts taking out the upper portion of one. One of the Arch Angels managed to stab his fingers into her back…and she simply formed an energy aura to make his fingers not only come out, but incinerated his hands, as she spun round, and smashed the back of her hand into the side of his head, with such a force it crushed in the skull in, his eyes and tongue bulging out as he fell.

The last four converged on her, two of them grabbing her arms, and the third and fourth moving in, in front and behind her. She quickly, as the front one got close, used him as a stepping stone, kicking him away while using him to spin herself around, and getting out of the grip of the two that held her, and as the one behind her had been dangerously close, her feet smacked into the back of his head as she came down, and embedded themselves into his now smashed skull, as he hit the floor, and she landed.

The two that had once had her, tried to kick and punch, but she easily dodged the fist of one and shrugged off the kick of the other as she grabbed the one that tried to punch her by his head, and with just one hand, crushed his head and brains in, blood spurting out everywhere, then quickly throwing his body to the second attacker, knocking him away.

The one who had received the kick from her earlier was now back up, and as she turned towards him, he socked her several times in the stomach, before punching her across the face, knocking her down to the ground. He moved in to try and keep the attack going, but she had quickly turned herself over from being momentarily face first in the ground, and with one powerful swing of a kick, smacked him right in the groin, which even to Arch Angels, was goddamn painful, as he stumbled back for a moment, letting her get back up, ready to fight again.

She rushed at him, and aimed one of her fists low, bending down a tad, and with sheer force, in an uppercut motion, as he was about to punch her right in the head, her hand tore through his clothing, to his groin area, and ploughed straight through it, upwards through his entire body, tearing flesh and bone as it went, untill her hand reappeared, ripping out of his neck, his guts and flesh pouring out of the massive gash right down the middle, falling down to the ground on his back, leaving one more.

The final Arch Angel she heard running towards her, and simply turned to his direction, as he got close, she grabbed his head, and twisted it violently one way, making a cracking sound, before twisting it the other way, letting go, making the head go at a 160 degree angle from it's original position, with a huge snapping sound, before the body hit the floor, leaving her wounded, hurt and exhausted…but standing.

She slowly turned her focus to Shinn. "…Will you fight me?"

"Je,Jenova…"

"Will you fight me?" She barked at him.

Shinn slowly shook her head. "Jenova…I can't. I, I can't hurt you. Please stop this."

Jenova ignored him, turning towards her final target…Azrael.

Azrael was as calm as ever still, waving his fan slightly. "Your wounded, exhausted. Your power is at it's lowest. I suggest you stand down. If you prepare yourself to fight, I will accept that you wish to end the suffering your going through."

She simply got into her battle stance once more. "Fight, me. I will win."

Azrael closed his eyes for a moment. "…Very well. But I will make this quick. I will not hold back at all. Goodbye."

Jenova rushed forward, clenching her fists. This was it, her one chance…for herself, for Ronni, for Ronni's child, she was going to strike Azrael down…she did not care for his spare hand being raised in front of him, his palm aimed in her direction, as she got close.

A small white ball of energy fired from his palm, hitting Jenova. The moment it hit, she was suddenly engulfed and trapped in the white ball, as it had increased in size the moment it connected, trapping her inside. Slowly, Azrael made the ball of energy with it's victim slowly rise to the air, Jenova trying to move, to get out of the trap, but unable to, paralyzed completely.

Shinn watched, horrified. "JENOVA!"

The ball soon was high in the sky, between the ground and the clouds above that formed slowly, in a swirling motion. Azrael raised his fan up, eyes open, looking at the ball of energy, before bringing the fan down…and two massive pillars of light blue energy shot out. One from the clouds above the ball, and one beneath the ball, from the ground. Both powerful energy forces colliding in the middle, at where Jenova was, engulfing her and the trap in it's blinding light.

Azrael called this 'The One.'. His power at it's most, designed to destroy and obliterate anything…back in the previous cycles, before giving much of his power to the Azrael Core. Now it was the attack that wounded the most powerful of his angels, or simply wiped out anything less.

Jenova was a powerful angel though, with a lot of willpower. Despite the attack, despite the damage, once after a good 30 seconds of this powerful energy constantly burning her and damaging her, it all faded, and she fell from the sky, smacking the ground with a powerful thud. Azrael looked down at her, waiting…and lo and behold, her arms moved, as she slowly placed her hands on the ground, and with great effort, lifting her head, looking at him, lifting herself up ever so slightly, her arms shaking madly from trying to hold her. "A…Azrael…I'll…never let, you…I, am, the angel, of…the lady's…vengeance, my, my mother….mother…"

But despite her determination, it was done. She felt herself give in to the wounds, her body submitting to the pain, and blacking out…

She was beaten, marking the end of the battle…

Beyondard was to be marked by this day, as that great tree never recovered, rapidly dieing off, being nothing more then an empty husk. Several miles around the tree, nothing grew, due to the blood of the angels soaking into the ground, making that land nothing but a dried wasteland, forever dead, looming dark grey clouds always present, blocking out the suns…

* * *

Ronni floated there, in the starry abyss, a day after the loss of her child, a day after the battle that destroyed her angels…

Thanos, Sheogorath and Dean had told her to remain in the Negative Multiverse, but she had to see the world of Beyondard again, of the place she finally turned against Azrael, that her angels fought bravely at for her.

She tried to sense for Jenova…she could feel the loss of the others, and Shinn, being alive, but now, close to Azrael, she knew what he did…but Jenova…

She couldn't sense her closest Angel. She was missing now. Where did she go? What did Azrael do to her?

Eventually, she felt the presence of another close to her. The black cloak, the scythe, Death. He floated there, looking at the planet with her. "THE OTHERS ARE IN OBLIVION, AND HAVE ALREADY BEGUN THEIR PROCESS BACK INTO THE NEGATIVE LIFESTREAMS. JENOVA THOUGH, I COULDN'T FIND**.**"

"…Thank you for looking."

"WHATEVER FATE HAS BEFALLEN HER, IT MEANS THAT SHE'S STILL ALIVE. NOW I SUGGEST YOU GO HOME. AZRAEL'S ANGELS ARE STILL ON THE LOOK OUT AFTER THE STUNT YOU PULLED. IT'LL TAKE A WHILE FOR THINGS TO COOL DOWN AGAIN. I CAN ONLY BLOCK OUT THEIR SENSES ON YOUR PRESENCE HERE FOR SO LONG."

Ronni looked to him, nodding slightly, before opening a purple vortex behind herself, and floating backwards into it, disappearing…

Death had watched her leave, then felt the presence of other. Looking to the other side of him, floating there, laying back in the void of space, hands behind his head, was Q. "Enjoyed watching those angels get torn up Death? Must've been fun making sure those souls were collected and all packed away for oblivion."

Death looked at Q for a moment, then down towards the planet. "THE DEATH OF THE WARRIOR, OF A CHILD, OR AN OLD MAN, THIS I UNDERSTAND. I UNDERSTAND THE END, AND I COME TO END THE PAIN AND SUFFERING…BUT I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THAT WOMAN. THAT RONNI. SHE BROUGHT ALL THIS ON HERSELF BY CHOOSING TO DO SO, AND NOW LAMENTS ON IT."

Q shrugged. "It's natural Death. Ronni regrets it because it cost her a lot more then she wanted it to. She wanted to have her child back, and to make Azrael stop making things worse. For once she went too far."

"AZRAEL IS ON A PATH OF RUIN. NOTHING THAT ANY BEING SAYS TO HIM WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE AT THIS STAGE…THE SIDES OF THIS GAME HAVE BEGUN TO BE FULLY SET…AND I WILL BE WATCHING IT ALL…TELL ME, ARE YOU ON ANY SIDE IN THIS?"

Q shook his head. "I simply want the family to come back together. I want the higher ups to get their act together and help mortals have a more, natural time of things compared to what's been going on. I want Lysander and Azrael to realize the chain between them. A chain that binds them."

"…AH, THAT CHAIN."

"A hunger for freedom, and a need for control are twin greeds. Both are guilty of demanding one thing or another. If they could understand that they need to have an equal amount of freedom and control… Lysander to stop seeing his father as an enemy and a hindrance, and see that he needs to control himself a little more, and stop hunting for an escape. Azrael to allow his son space, and lessen his control to allow his family to help him, give himself some freedom."

"NEITHER OF THEM WILL REALIZE THIS YOU KNOW. THE DYE IS CAST, AS THEY SAY."

"Well, you never know…hopefully they will…before it's all to late." with that, Q vanished…Death continued looking at the planet, wondering about something else now, the fate of that angel, of Jenova…and as for her…

* * *

Jenova was indeed alive.

Azrael was going to finish her off, but Shinn pleaded to him, asking him to not kill her, to spare her.

And he did. But not in a way that he would leave her intact. He ordered Shinn to leave him, and once Shinn was out of the picture, to simply see to Smith on how he was, Azrael used his power to simply shatter Jenovas' Spirit into 20 pieces, killing her body, but keeping her spirit 'alive', to say. With those pieces, he made 20 of her, as mutated abominations, sent out to each Universe, to keep her apart for good, and eventually, over the years, hopefully, to get wiped out by mortals, so he could not be the blame for her demise, thus he keeps what he said to Shinn intact, nor worry over her possible return.

These Jenovas all gained, over the years that followed, the title of "The Calamity from the Skies.". Her rage, her anger against Azrael and his Multiverse still lived on, her Negative energy in each of her bodies causing harm to whatever planet they were on, mutating the life there, causing monsters to exist…she continued to hate, and every single one of them, didn't understand why…

As for their lover, Shinn…

It had been several years since the death of Jenova. Azrael claimed she had woken and fled back to the Negative Multiverse, much to the despair of Shinn who believed him, knowing full well he could never go back to that Multiverse for the act he committed against Ronni. For those several years, he had returned and stayed at Beyondard of Universe 8, at the battleground of his loved one.

He was sitting close to the now ruined Great tree, no leaves grew on it anymore, it's bark now grey and dead, much like the land around it. Shinn leaned on it, eyes shut, thinking about Jenova as always.

He heard the faintest sound of wind nearby, then, heard of the voice of one of his common visitors lately. "Shinn…You need to stop lamenting over her. I know it's hard but please…"

It was Resha's voice. She took a few steps towards Shinn. She had been returning here since the day blood was spilled, the day Ronni rebelled…she felt guilty partly over it. If she didn't tell them about Ronni, then perhaps they would all still be alive now. This guilt is what leads her to try and help Shinn get back on his feet again.

Shinn opened his eyes, the sadness as clear as ever within them, as he looked at her for a moment, then up to the dark grey clouds above. "What can I do…I've broken her heart Resha. I've damaged our special bond together. She's returned to Ronni, while I…I am here."

Resha stepped closer, and soon, sat down near him, sighing a little. "Things, just happen Shinn. Things that we didn't want to."

"But, But I could've done something, something to convince her Azrael was in the right. Ronni was stepping out of line, attacking him for the sake of a…" He paused, wondering if she knew or not about the relationship between Lysander and Ronni. "…man, a being that doesn't know her existence…"

"Perhaps, perhaps she doubted Azrael, knowing that there was more to the Chaos Lord then meets the eye…like I felt there was…"

Shinn looked at her slowly, a little surprised. "Resha?"

"He, he wasn't committing acts of evil, or cruelty. He was, just, living a life…maybe Ronni knew this, maybe that's why she knew I had doubts, worries, over what was going to happen…it's what made me contact you all, to tell you to come and help her, explain what was going on."

Shinn nodded slowly, looking ahead now, at the dead land around them. "We both have doubts about these higher beings…but, it won't bring her back to me now…I've lost her…as I have lost Mother."

Resha chuckled a little. "Lost her? Perhaps you don't know Lady Ronni that well…I doubt she would hold it against you. She never held anything against any of the Angels here, no matter what they said about her…all but Azrael, she always seemed to have…well, concern, anger, all kinds of things towards him…"

"…They share a bond. One that makes sure they're always close, no matter how far they tear themselves apart, Resha. Perhaps in time, she'll return to try and make up for what she did towards him…"

Resha folded her arms. "Yeah, maybe…if she does, that means in time, the others of Chaotic Space will come back as well, so that means Jenova."

"…She will not forgive me."

"She might Shinn. Give it a chance, she might do. If you explain everything to her, how you felt at that moment, how you, feared for her life…she might."

"Resha…"

"Hey, listen to me alright? Promise me you'll make an effort when you find Jenova again, to make amends with her. I don't want to find you moping around forever in this cycle." she put her hand out to him. A very human way to suggest to someone to agree with them, but Shinn gave her a little smile, and shook her hand.

"Alright Resha. I promise to you I'll make the effort. When I find out of her being back here in this Multiverse, I'll try my best."

She gave him a wholehearted smile. "That's more like it. Now why don't you just get away from this place? Just go around, enjoy life a little. Azrael won't bother you I think. Not like he has since that day so, go and enjoy while waiting."

* * *

Shinn did just that. For millions of years of this cycle, he left Beyondard, to explore, to live a life, to see things around this Multiverse…but, over that time, he saw Lovers wherever he went, and slowly but surely, that feeling of need came back, that need for his lover to be in his arms.

He had tried to shake that feeling off while waiting, trying to create new relationships with human women to distract his mind, use them as his lovers…but they aged, and he refused to grant them any immortality. They weren't like Jenova, they didn't have her desire, her lust when they embraced him…

Now and then he would meet Resha, and now and then her sister Anna, on his travels, explaining his depression coming back, to Resha mostly, and simply asking how Resha was when it came to Anna seeing him. Resha would remind him that the time will come, and he'll get his chance, and agreed to meeting him every 10 years to help keep him going, keep him driven to wait for his chance to make amends.

As the years went by, they updated him with the news that Ronni had returned to the Multiverse, that Azrael was accepting her presence, but refused to see eye to eye with her, keeping things between the Negative and Positive tense.

He had to admit, with Resha, he felt accepted in this Multiverse. Seeing her as a very close friend, He even felt affection towards her, more so then any mortal woman, and close to his feelings he had of Jenova, but wished it, regardless, to remain friends only, never showing that loving feeling to Resha. Jenova was still his true love, and that promise he made pushed him to try and remain happy, to keep going, and not think of his lover that much as he waited patiently.

But as he saw Resha less and less over time, his doubts returned strongly, engulfing him once more.

Eventually, he returned to the great tree, now it and the dead land around it surrounded by electric fencing from the mankind that lived on the planet…and waited once more, expecting Resha to come and visit him, no doubt noticing his presence being back there. But, she never came. For a few hundred years, he was fully alone again. To him, it was like an eternity.

Untill one day, 20 years to the present day of the Gamemaster verse…

* * *

Q had visited him. As Shinn sat down quietly inside the tree, all alone, the angel suddenly appeared in a white flash, close to the Negative Angel, wearing his Starfleet uniform as normal. "Oh, I was wondering if you might be here."

Shinn didn't bother standing up, and spoke, in a saddened tone. "If Azrael wishes me to do anything, tell him I wish to be alone…"

Q looked to him in a pitying way. "Poor Shinn, first he loses Jenova, now he thinks his only friend has abandoned him…your so far behind the times…especially since I know where Jenova is."

Shinn stood up the second Q finished that sentence, looking at him in shock. "Jenova? You know where she is? Is she in this Multiverse then?"

"Well, yes, she is…in several parts of course."

Shinn's face turned from surprise, to horror. "W-What?"

"Well Azrael decapitated her soul, turned her into 20 monsters, and sent each one to a universe in this Multi. She's a little broken down, but can be fixed by just having two of them come together again."

"Azrael, he, he did that…? Why, why?"

"Because she's dangerous. He did this millions of years ago after the Bloody Angels battle. But now he soon won't have anything to worry about…there's only two of her left."

Shinn went quiet for a moment…before turning angry. "Q, tell me where both of them are, NOW!"

"Well, I'll tell you of where one of them are. Universe 20, Gaia VII. The other…don't worry, I know where she is, I'll make sure she's safe. But your running out of time. In universe 20, that Jenova is soon going to meet the fate of the others. See, two of her can be united…if the bodies are intact. The 18 that are gone, had their heads taken off…the Jenova I told you about just now, is, in about I would say 3 to 4 hours, going to suffer the exact, same, fate….ending her very chance to ever be put back together again.."

Shinn was gone already. Vanishing in a blink of an eye..

* * *

On the planet they spoke about, Gaia VII in Universe 20. A white haired warrior was within a factory known as a Mako Reactor, created by the Terran Empire…

Sephiroth.

He felt a calling. A calling to here. To see his 'mother'. the Negative energy of Jenova had made him delusional, made him believe he was her child, like most of his alternates in this Multiverse. He saw himself as her messenger, the destined ruler of this planet.

He stepped into the building, making his slow, winding way down into it's depths. He had, on his way here, burnt down a village, and could sense that he was being pursued by several people who survived, but chose to just walk on, to head to his mother, to join with her.

He stepped into a chamber, with a steel staircase, the place, filled with steel test tubes, all with the logo of a sword stabbing through a planet…the logo of the Terran Empire. He stopped for a moment, looking around…he was sure one of his pursuers had been close, but had suddenly stopped….he shrugged it off, and continued on, walking up the steel steps, to a iron door. Above it, was the word, on a rusted plaque. 'JENOVA.'

He slowly raised his arms up, looking to the door. "Mother, I am here. Please, let me in."

…

The door did not move. It did not respond to his arrival. Instead he suddenly felt the arrival of someone new, at the bottom of the stairway. Slowly turning around, he saw who it was. "…And you are?"

Shinn stood there, looking at Sephiroth, determination in his face, his actions. "Sorry, but 'Mother' can't hear you anymore. Jenova belongs to me Sephiroth. I'm sorry, but for her sake, I must cut your life and fate short!"

It was only a mere five minutes that passed, when Tifa Lockhart arrived with her Father, and Zack Flair…Tifa's father had followed Sephiroth all the way here, and had gotten close to him further back in the building, but he felt someone grab his shoulder, stopping him. He had been explaining to his daughter and Zack when they both arrived on what who he saw.

And that person was in here still. All three of them looked up the stairway, the test chambers nearby, indented and damaged, some, slashed apart by some powerful force…standing at the top of the stairway, was Shinn…and close to him, the blood trickling down the steps, face first on the floor, his long, great sword, Masamune, at the bottom of the stairs, was Sephiroth, killed, by this unknown person that they all could see…

Shinn raised his hand slowly towards the now blooded iron door, and it opened, sliding aside, letting him see inside the chamber, which carried her…Jenova. After it was opened, he turned, looking down at the others. Zack had the buster sword at the ready, watching Shinn closely, making sure both Tifa and her Father were behind him, on his shoulder pad, was a different logo to that of the Terran Empire, the sword was not stabbed downwards, but instead, pointed upwards, though what seemed to be several cogs in a round machine, instead of a planet.

This was the logo of the Brotherhood of Steel, a rebel faction of the Terran Empire, what Shinra, and thus SOLIDER, became connected to. It had been founded 30 years ago, and quickly gained support from those that didn't want to keep seeing other races as lesser beings, and felt there had to be another way of bringing true peace to the Multiverse.

Shinn soon noticed a young lad, wearing Power Armor, joining them in the room…Cloud Strife, keeping his Laser Rifle close, and motioning at Tifa and her Father to let him get past, and stood close to Zack.

The Negative Angel soon spoke to them. "You must all leave. Soon this place will be nothing but rubble. You need sorry about anything related to Jenova…Soon, she'll be gone from this planet, and anything that has a hint of her genes, will be purified. Restored to normality."

Zack didn't lower the weapon, unsure. "…And your going to make this miracle happen?"

"I am from a place where Jenova comes from…I'm going to take her home and end the suffering she's caused here. I will apologise for the loss of Sephiroth, but he would've never listened to me. Now go, go and live your lives."

Tifa and her Father slowly backed out of the room, and quickly begun to leave. Cloud looked at Zack for a moment, before doing so himself. Zack smiled a little, and lowered his sword. "Can we at least get a name off you? Before you go about dragging her sorry guts home?"

"Shinn is my name."

"Well, Shinn….thanks." With that, he departed, as Shinn turned around, and slowly walked into the chamber…

There she was….Jenova…sealed in a liquid glass tank, mutated by the effects of being torn into 20 parts, her eyes closed, a massive tube embedded into her stomach, her skin, a dull blue now, shading towards that of her once mother, and her hair ghostly white, wearing a device on her head which had her name and date of her being found on…

He walked up to the chamber, and gently placed his hands on it…out of it all, her face remained the same, after all this… "Jenova…"

Her eyes suddenly opened. No longer grey iris's, but now, neon red, glowing, as she looked right at him, hearing him. In Shinn's mind, she spoke to him, her voice distorted now, echoey. '….Your voice…'

"Jenova. It's, it's me. Shinn. The man you loved Jenova. I've come back, come back to you. I'm here to help you become whole again my love."

She didn't sound so happy about it. Something in that lost realm of memories triggered when his voice was heard…a feeling of betrayal. 'You…I despise you…why is that?'

Shinn shook his head at her. "It doesn't matter. Soon things will change. You'll see just how far I'll go in order to help you come back, and I won't stop untill I get you back…I promised Resha I would make amends to you and Mother, and this is my chance."

With that, he pressed his hands slightly on the glass…and it shattered, being blasted away into a million fragments, the liquid inside flushed out all over the chamber, as Jenova stood there…for good ten seconds, she felt numb, unable to do anything. Within this time, each Sephiroth would decapitate her head…but not this time. she felt her body once again. It was alive again. Her head still attached.

With her great power all still with her, instead of how fate would've wanted and shared to those that carried her genes, she forced the large tube to come out of her stomach, which healed up rapidly, the device on her head to shatter, allowing her hair to flow freely again, and any odd markings on her skin, such as the obvious eye on her breast, vanished…her skin a slimy texture, still a dulled blue, but more humane now, with only her glowing eyes, and the two flesh stumps sticking out of her back, looking like remains of wings, hinting to her mutation in this state.

Slowly, she stepped out of the broken chamber, as Shinn took a few steps back…her figure was of his Jenova, the same breast size, body figure…he was glad to see her again, so, so glad. But her face showed…contempt towards him. As she used her mouth to speak, her voice the same as he had heard in his head. "What do you intend to do now? Do you plan to copulate with me, as you keep showing affection?"

Shinn shock his head a little. "No, we're going to leave here and take you somewhere I know that's safe. Somewhere that Azrael and his angels won't find you…no one will be able to trace you."

With a blink of an eye, he and Jenova vanished…and soon after, the entire facility suddenly erupted, as Shinn had wanted, to leave no hint of her existence here…

* * *

Then, he and Jenova returned to Beyondard of Universe 8...but not at the great tree.

Instead they appeared in a deep cavern, far below the surface of the planet…the cavern was littered with crystals, diamonds made out of Chaos Energy, all embedded into the walls, glowing and making the light that showed the place, a red glow…around them, were miners, human miners, busy drilling and collecting the diamonds…or were, before Shinn raised his hands, and with all his power, shown by the purple aura over his hands, he emitted a powerful blast of energy…which tore flesh from bone, ripping and destroying the humans. Not only in the cavern they were in…

But all down the corridors made by the humans to this place, the shockwave flow through, making dozens of the people panic and try and flee to the lifts that brought them down, very few of them managing to get on the lifts and go up…before the shockwave reached the doors of those lifts, killing the people who didn't make it on time…

The survivors informed the others on the higher levels, and within the months that followed they tried to send expeditions down to that level of the mine, level 25 as it was known…and each time there was a group, Shinn disposed of them, leaving perhaps, one, maybe two survivors to flee in terror, and claim the place was haunted, cursed by ancient monsters.

After 4 long months, no one dared to venture to level 25, after over five hundred people died for it, it was deemed too dangerous, and off limits to all workers, allowing the cursed belief to continue on, as Shinn wanted. Perfect, for keeping Jenova isolated and safe.

Jenova, during this, simply sat and watched Shinn commit the acts. She eventually felt trust to him, knowing that, unlike mortals, she couldn't control him in any way, but he still helped her, kept her safe. She still was uneasy due to her mind telling her he had hurt her before, especially when he explained about who she had very, very faint memories of…

Ronni, her mother. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew of ,A, mother. And Shinn's description of her matched the faint image in Jenova's mind. He told her of Azrael, and of what he was, an angel of the Negative realm, and they were in the Positive…Azrael's name really gave her a wave of anger, as she snarled at the thought of the name, yet when Shinn asked if she remembered who he was, Jenova said she just knew he had tormented her before, and her existence was to make him pay with his life, if not, then just those that follow him.

10 days after the last group of mortals that tried to enter this level, Shinn and Jenova were greeted by a brief flash of light, and Q, appearing near them.

Shinn was overjoyed by this. Jenova was watching Q very closely, as Q spoke to them. "Please say I didn't pick a bad time. You weren't planning to start bonking each other were you?"

"Q! your finally here! You finally felt me trying to reach out to you! Did you help the other Jenova? Is she safe?"

Q nodded. "She's fine. Sephiroth is now kinda gone loopy, picking flowers, singing to himself…I had to enjoy myself ruining his life and his mind."

"Where is she now? What Universe Q? So I can finally reunite with her fully!"

Q looked a little surprised. "Oh? Did you, actually think I was planning to tell you the location of both?"

Shinn's face dropped. "You, You said-"

Q gave a little chuckle, looking at his hand for a moment, as if checking for something. "I never said I would tell you of both of them. Don't worry though Shinn, if Fate favours you, you'll be reunited with her. Right now she's in the hands of the Enclave, Smith's territory. I suggest you don't even try to get close."

Shinn was horrified now. "No…No Q…Why, Why did you let them…let my beloved…"

Q turned serious now, looking right at Shinn, after briefly looking at Jenova. "…Because I can't be sure of you Shinn. What you'll do next. You might do far more harm then you can possibly know, to those you used to be close to. I would rather let fate decide this. If I brought her to you, you would be thankful to me, but then what? Would you fight against Azrael, my brothers and sisters? Maybe perhaps go a little further, maybe even turn on Lysander and his angels, for simply being the reason for Ronni's pain?….maybe in all this, attack Ronni herself, for not being there for you after all these years?"

Q clicked his fingers, and in a white flash, vanished again…

…

It had been but a day after this. Shinn was standing there, in the deadman wasteland of Beyondard. Ahead of him, the great tree. It was night on the planet, the dark clouds above allowing only glimpses of the stars…

Jenova was still safe, the one he had, waiting in the cavern in the depths..

Shinn looked upwards at the Great Tree. "…Azrael…you betrayed me. Like you betrayed Ronni…"

"Ronni…you betrayed my trust in you, to keep the peace between us, Azrael and Lysander…."

"Lysander, you brought this all to us. Creating the suffering I, Jenova, Resha and many others are going through…"

"I can't forgive any of you three. I'll make you all understand that. I'll help, with the best of my ability, make a place where none of us angels have to follow your family. I'll even side with a monster like Smith to achieve it if it boils down to it…when I find your other half, Jenova…"

He raised one of his hands towards the tree. "I'll finish it. I'll complete you. Keep my long awaited promise to Resha to make amends. Revive you once more….then we'll make Azrael pay…make them all pay…"

Shinn, the Angel who was noted, by Destiny of The Endless within his book, to have the sad destiny, curse, of Martyrdom, ever since he came into existence, wherever it was intentional by Ronni or just an effect of her power when she made him…

He was condemned, to live, and to die…for love.

* * *

As for the mother, for Ronni…

When Shinn heard about her return to the Positive Multiverse, she did so because she indeed, couldn't keep it against Azrael forever, blaming herself for the deaths of her angels, especially the loss of Jenova…

Azrael accepted her return, to the grudging understanding of several of the angels in his ranks, such as Smith and Gman, but told her that her angels will, from now on, remain in her Multiverse only, and are forbidden to come to his.

She agreed to this. And the first major thing she noticed, was that Azrael no longer looked at her. From that meeting on, he never did. He would speak to her if she came to him, listen to her, but never dare look at her…and it made her feel remorse for breaking their bond together, hurting what they once had.

For all the years up to around 206 years ago, she often went to him, to try and make him look at her, to try and make him see reason, or even just stop being so high and mighty. But as always, Azrael kept to what he was, God. He must be superior, he must know all, and must see all, anyone who questioned that, was an enemy.

Untill he went to the Hero Base of Earth X.

He had simply followed those of Earth V there, out of interest instead of simply going to one of the Great trees…and begun to feel a slight attachment to the mortals that lived in the base, listening to them, even helping out at times, trying to blend in when possible.

Ronni was amused by his sudden wish to remain with them instead of going elsewhere, and several times, tried to talk him during his stay there. He didn't look at her every time, but now, he would listen, which she was thankful for, although, once the last major incident with that band of heroes ended, she pleaded to him to help her with something major in her own Multiverse.

The Negative Multiverse, was under attack, by the Ing.

The Ing's numbers across the Multiverse had risen rapidly over a small amount of time, mostly by the increased amount of Chaos Souls and Shards in the Positive Multiverse. Whenever a shard was broken or a soul was killed, fragments of it's energy would transfer over to the Negative, and spawn up to 50 Ing creatures.

And with those numbers growing, they invaded many worlds, creating new hives and colonies for themselves, creating the cloud with Sigil Stones, spawning ever more forces and driving the life of those planets to either escape, or suffer total annihilation.

Ronni's angels, now only three, could not stop the rampage, nor could the Luminoth. Eventually, a Multiverse War had been declared after each Universe had managed to get in contact with one another, and admitting they were all under attack by, not only the Ing, but by a force that helped direct the Ing, to help the pitch black creatures to get through weaknesses in defences and such,

Unversed. Their numbers had increased by the sheer amount of deaths and power fusions across the Positive realm, and only for the last hundred and so years to the present timeline, has Ronni lost contact with the once shepherd of them, the Symphony Master.

She feared he had been overpowered by a being that had been killed in the Positive, and respawned as an Unversed in her Multiverse. Without such a vital being at the helm of the Unversed who talked to her, she lost all communication with what they were doing and were they were going.

Humanity, Oni, all races of Chaotic Space, of the Negative Multi, were facing a true crisis, and Azrael simply blamed Ronni for not watching over it. Eventually, she resigned and accepted it, that it was all her fault, and no one else's.

And for her once lover, Azrael, he had his own issues.

His power was weakening.

In an incident of time and space, known by most as the Darkrift, his core was destroyed, and with it, most of his power was lost. What made him more so weaker, was the fact he was allowing his own energy to be drained by one of his angels, to make that angel more and more stronger…

Ronni spoke with him about this, and told him that whatever was happening to him, was also effecting her, that he was losing touch with the Multiverse he cared once for. He would admit it at times, but others, he still believed he was in complete control, regardless of his abilities to foresee possible futures had vanished, and his senses were dulled.

Eventually, later, in the present time of the Multiverse aka the Gamemaster era, something distracted her, something that made her keep a close eye on a band of people, who entered her Multiverse from the Positive. An extremely rare incident to happen, but lately, the Ing have been opening portals to the Positive, to try and lay claim to it. The border between the two Multiverse was breaking down a little.

In this band, was an angel of Azraels…

Ronni had her own temples in her Multiverse.

In one of them, right now, was the band of people she had been watching very closely. The Angel in question, was standing in the middle of the benches set up for her followers to sit and pray at…she had been there, waiting for them, at the back, keeping an eye out…

Soon, she stood up, and made her way up close behind the Angel, wearing, to not give away her skin colour or hints to identity, a purple robe and hood, keeping her head lowered untill she was right close.

The angel in question wore black dress shoes, black dress slacks, buttoned white-stripped shirt, a blue loosened tie, with a black suit, all mostly covered over with an unbuttoned beige trench coat.

As she stood there for a moment, she spoke to him, making him realize who was with them right now… "He felt just as alone, when he entered one of the temples…"

The angel, Castiel, quietly spoke her name in response, knowing the voice after so, so long… "…Ronni."

* * *

Notes:

Alrighty. Cast.

1. Sheogorath is from the Elder Scrolls IV, Oblivion. Known as the mad god, and hilarious as hell after so much annoyance in that game, lemme tell ya…

2. Dean Domino, Entertainer, Singer, Thief…is from Fallout New Vegas, Dead Money Expansion. His appearance is what is based on his humanoid form, prior to him being effected by radiation and changed into a ghoul.

3. Shinn is from Fist of the North Star Anime and Manga, master of one of the Nanto arts.

4. Raiden is from Mortal Kombat series, aka, the god of lightning guy who would scream "GUARIKKNAY!" when flying across the fighting field and ramming into an opponent….seriously it's what it sounds like to me back in the old games….it's either that or "HAIYABOMBALAAAY!"

is, (dead givaway in the chapter.) Jenova from Final Fantasy VII. Her human/angel appearance is self made, and help thanks to, I'm not joking, female version art of Toki from North Star….the bosoms were about the same size, so I went with it.

6. Thanos is from the Marvel 'Verse. Enough said…THANOS REIGNS!

7. Q is from Star Trek, obviously.


	7. The 13th Cycle II

On a planet called Earth, beyond the Multiverse. Life was pretty simple for one guy.

Some days get up, go to work, look after some old people with mental problems, come home, go on chat service with three friends, sleep.

Some days get up, play video games from dawn till dusk, go on chat service with three friends, sleep.

Some days get up, see his girlfriend, enjoy some time together, go home, play games, go on chat service with three friends, sleep.

But some days, he would visit two of those friends.

Those were his favourite days of all. Gaming, laughter, booze at times, energy drinks galore with snacks and sweets, sometimes staying over each others houses. It was damn awesome to him. With his girlfriend, he had to keep some sensible appearance and act, he couldn't fully talk about what he enjoyed. But with these two, nothing was held back, ever.

Chad Malyan and Lucy Valentine.

He had met the two back in school, originally thinking Chad as an annoyance, and Lucy, he had a small crush on, but being a girl that was two years younger then him did put him off a little back then, instead making him focus on the girl that would become his girlfriend years later, Ariel Williams.

As school past, they managed to keep in contact, and soon, he was introduced over the net, to a friend of Chads called Blue Hikari. This was something the guy had never regretted since, as it was, to him, his three true friends, trusted and faithful. The small feelings he had for Lucy were replaced by her being that girl he could always talk to about female issues…something she wasn't always a fan of.

And the guy who all this is about, is named Richard Chandos. 21 years of age, with medium dark brown hair, brown eyes, a slightly pale skin complexion, and stood at almost six feet tall. He was a fanfic writer when he had the spare time, something that caught on thanks to Chad and Lucy, and spurred on further by Blue. There was one story he did, that he and Chad focused on, with Lucy and Blue passing on their ideas into, whereas Chad and Blue would create numerous stories.

Richard's main focused story, was the Broken Universe, as it was eventually named. It was one of the longest continuing ideas they had ever done, and despite the length of time it took, they finally reached an ending for it, leading to them now planning a sequel, set 300 years later from the first story.

He never went for doing a story with Blue, heck, Blue and Chad had enough on their plates between each other as it was, and Richard didn't want to contribute to that, especially to their main issue, in his eyes, of their girl liking.

They kept having more and more girls they fancied from fiction, constantly changing their tastes for them as time went on. Richard tried to keep track, but boy, it was fricken' hard. Lucy was really no better, as she would often tell him of what guys she was interested in from fiction from time to time. Richard on the other hand, focused on very few fiction girls, something Chad had picked up on after one of them became painfully obvious.

Roll of the Megaman Battle Network series. She was the most common female character Richard used in the Broken Universe, and he did pair her with his evil self-insert for a short time, the very thing that gave it away he liked her…..that and Lucy once looked into his history of website viewing and saw he had added himself to a fan site dedicated to Roll.

He had other girls he liked, Jessica Rabbit, Medi of the Battle Network series, Kei Yuki of Captain Harlock, but none of them were the same as his fascination with Roll.

Speaking of his self insert, that what he would normally do whenever he was included in a story, he would make his own type to be evil or anti-heroes/rivals. He never was a fan of the good type, and eventually made most of his characters suffer the chronic backstabbing disorder, something he often hinted at in the video games they played, betraying the others if they had to work together in a team, more specifically, if he and Chad, had to work together in a team.

He only made one direct self-insert a good guy over time, who was eventually made out to be a brother to Roll…something he regretted in some ways, but others, he was content with. As a writer, he felt he had crafted Roll of the Broken Universe, and was more then happy to make sure she had a good ending, even going so far as to let her get married to the main hero of it.

Of course now he had a new story to set up, the 300 years later one, now dubbed to them as the 'Future Story'. The year on Earth was now 2009, and it was the time for major planning for that new story. Richard and Chad, along with Blue and Lucy, were laying out ideas and casts for it, often trying to tie things with the previous story. Eventually it was underway, and It was all going quite well, actually…

Until Blue went offline, and never came back on.

Richard assumed he probably had internet issues, and never thought about it beyond that. Soon the Christmas period and New Years hit, and Richard found himself focusing solely on work, his family, and his girlfriend. He knew he could easily talk to Chad in a couple of days into the new year, and decided on New Years eve to leave the message 'Happy New Year, you annoying bastard. I'll backstab ya sometime soon this year.' on their normal chat service, so Chad had something to frown at by the morning.

It was after his long day shift at work, in the evening of New Years day, he noticed he had missed several calls from Lucy. He gave her call, and almost right away she answered. "Richard!"

"Yo this is evil genius. Anything up Lucy? You normally-"

"He's gone!"

Richard paused for a moment. His mind was trying to register what she just said "…I'm sorry? He's gone? Who?"

"Chad! Chad is missing!"

* * *

The next morning, Richard had got himself up at the crack of dawn, and didn't even eat or drink anything in his home, as he left his home to catch a train to the small village Chad lived in, wearing a dark blue short sleeved shirt, black trousers, black trainers and a black raincoat.

When he got to the house, he headed up the garden path leading to their back door, opening it, and finding Chad's mother, Emily, who had long brown hair, had blue eyes, wearing a black top and a pair of jeans, just sitting there, at the family kitchen wooden table.

When she saw Richard enter, she gave him a small smile. "Hi dear. I take it you heard then?"

Richard slowly walked over to her, and gave her a little smile back, then giving her a little hug as she sat there for a few moments, before letting go. "Yeah…I heard. Lucy was trying to contact me all day yesterday. Any…ideas on him?" Richard moved away, and hung his raincoat up inside a cupboard nearby, and put his trainers away, showing he had black socks on.

"No. He went off down to the train station in the morning, apparently to Lucy, to try and get in one the January sales early…then that's it. He never came home."

"Not like him to just go off somewhere. He normally prefers to hide indoors then out. I take it the police know?"

Emily nodded. "Yeah, they're due round soon. Lucy is upstairs in his room, if you want to talk to her."

Richard nodded, and left Emily alone. He knew that was a cue for him to leave her in her own thoughts, and proceeded to head up the stairs in the hallway just beyond the kitchen, and after going by the bathroom, found the door to Chads room open.

As he stood in the doorway, he saw Lucy, sitting there on the edge of the double bed, which was covered in a dark blue sheet and cover. She looked slightly in a trance, obviously in her own little world, worrying over Chad, the redness in her cheeks and around her eyes gave the fact away she had been crying a little before he came.

Now she was 19, and had a pretty damn decent looking body, in his personal opinion, with her long pink hair and her red eyes to compliment it. She was wearing her sleeveless purple shirt, blue jeans, and white socks. Her pink hair and red eyes were natural…something that freaked a fair few kids out at school, but made her appreciate those she gained as friends much more, as they looked past the unique colouring. Richard simply accepted it after making several offhand jokes, and to him it's a norm now.

He wasn't sure how to get her attention, until he noticed, close by, in a small bin within the room, the remains of an alarm clock that resembled Pac Man caught his eye, beneath the empty sweet wrappings and plastic bottles of Dr Pepper. He jokingly said out loud "Man, I knew sooner or later he would trash it completely. Him and mornings never really mixed, did they? I told ya you should be his alarm clock and just come in and kick him out the bed, save him the cash on these machines."

Lucy quickly looked over to him…and before he knew it, he found her hugging him, tightly. He felt a little uneasy, looking at her. "Hey hey, come on girl, it's only been a day right? Don't need to come to the backstabber for comfort yet."

She didn't answer. It was then Richard picked up on how serious this was, and just slowly put his arms around her to hug her back, give her the comfort she was obviously after at the moment. "Hey, come on Lucy…"

It took her about 10 minutes to finally let him go, and sit back down on the bed, with Richard following and joining her. She explained of the morning before. Everything was normal, they got up, washed, dressed, had breakfast, he said about going out, said about coming back in a couple of hours, and, that was it…"

"Any luck with his phone then?" Richard asked.

Lucy looked over to a nearby wooden desk, that had Chad's computer on…and also, his mobile phone. Which was still there.

Richard sighed. "Seriously Chad? Of all the fucking days to forget ya damned phone."

"I was hoping that maybe he had gone round yours. That's why I was desperately trying to call you. I, got the hint he wasn't when you wouldn't answer the whole afternoon and evening." Lucy turned her focus back on Richard.

"Working with the crazy coots does force you to focus your attention on them and put your phone on silent. Double pay yesterday girl, I couldn't say no when I skipped Christmas and Boxing Day shifts to spend time with Ariel."

"That's, understandable." She answered.

"So, did he take anything else besides his wallet? Books? Games? DVDs? Survival gear to endure the outside world?"

She shook her head. "No. Nothing else…I'm worried, Richard."

Richard smiled, and put his arm around her. "Lucy, Chad's fine. We both know him well enough. His probably...gone off on a trip. A little adventure to clear his head and…and something else I've yet to think of."

"Richard, you know him well enough, you know him and the outside world don't mix well."

"Well I'm no social master myself, but I survived so far haven't I? Heck I have to talk to old folks when they say about their invisible school kids or cats on the ceiling. That's a lot harder then it sounds."

"Well, I suppose you have a point…"

Richard then gave out an idea. "Hey, maybe his got a girl huh? Maybe his decided to finally go over to her place and have some snu snu."

Boy did she give him a glare. He knew her feelings about Chad, and knew she would react to it. "No Richard, I already checked over his computer files yesterday, he hasn't got a girl, so you can leave that idea alone."

"Ah come on Lucy. You never know, maybe his found a way to hide this fact. Just think, his in her bedroom, a smoking blonde girl, large bosoms, sweet looking ass, and knows how to make him have a good time, despite his height."

She moved away from him a little and punched him lightly on the arm. "That's for the idea of him hiding a girl." Then she punched his arm again, making him mockingly say 'ooow' and moving off the bed, standing up and rubbing his arm. "And that's for joking about his height yet again. His nearly on level with you now."

"Ah ah, but look, your smiling now. My main objective all along is quickly achieved."

Indeed she was, there was a smile back on her face, as she now stood up, folding her arms. "Well I see someone still hides their goals despite what's going on."

"What can I say? I know how to play with people, especially those with pink hair and red eyes."

She sighed. "Of course."

Richard looked around the room, then at his friend. "Hey, why don't you get your coat and shoes and come out with me? Get some fresh air, clear that head of yours. We'll grab some snacks down at the village center, then head on up to a certain location for some peace and quiet."

Lucy wasn't sure, looking at Chad's computer. "…"

"Come on Lucy. It'll help. You know it will, trust me on this."

Soon, they had both departed from Chad's place, grabbed some snacks, and soon enough, after a lengthy walk through a couple of farm fields, they found themselves on a hillside, where there was a giant, white cross embedded into the ground, a memorial symbol for all those that died during the two world wars that plagued this world, that came from the village Chad lived in.

They had both sat themselves down at the very top of the hill, overlooking the cross, and beyond it, the farmlands, and the village itself. The sky was grey and cloudy, cold and icy, but there was very little breeze thankfully. They had a plastic bag with several bits and bobs between them, sandwiches, crisps, drinks, sweets. Richard was back in his raincoat and trainers, while Lucy was wearing a purple puffed out jacket, zipped up, and black shoes.

Richard had taken out a little music player he always carried around, and placed it close to the bag, and let what music he had on it play on, as they sat there, admiring the view.

'_I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle__._

_As I go ridin' merrily along__._

_And they sing, 'Oh ain't ya glad you're single'__._

_And that song ain't so very far from wrong__._

_Oh, Lily Bell, oh, Lily Bell,_

_Though I may have done some foolin, this is why I never fell__._

_I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle__._

_As I go ridin' merrily along__._

_And they sing, 'Oh ain't ya glad you're single'__._

_And that song ain't so very far from wrong__.'_

Richard was busy tilting his head back and forth to the song, humming it as it played.

Lucy was silently enjoying where they were, eating her sandwich, looking out to the land beyond…she couldn't help but feel, maybe, just maybe, Chad was actually okay…maybe he got sidetracked, maybe he just decided to venture around. You can't always expect everything afterall. She soon turned her focus to Richard. "...Do you think his okay?"

Richard stopped humming, looking at her for a moment, in up at the sky, thinking for a moment. "Hm, knowing him, his indoors somewhere by now instead of being out here in the fucking cold. Bastard probably would laugh at us for being here."

"You suggested to come here you know."

"Yeah well, I needed to get you out his room. it wasn't doing you any good, and the cross is a good place for thinking. Heck I come here all the time when I seriously need to stop and think, especially if something serious is going down."

Lucy raised her eyebrow at that. "Do you feel this is serious then? You're hiding it pretty well."

"…Well you gotta. Got to be there for the others who really are worried." He looked to the ground. "To be honest Lucy, I'm damn well concerned for Chad right now. Him doing this certainly isn't normal at all. First Blue falls silent, then, there goes Chad a few weeks later. I don't like it."

"Do you, think something happened to both of them? Like it's linked?" Lucy asked.

Richard chuckled. "I want to say yes, but the odds are very unlikely, especially since Blue lives quite a fair distance away, ya know. Heck, it's so hard for him to come down, his only ever visited twice. So, I doubt they're connected…BUT, if they were, I'll be much more worried, because the main thing they have in common the most is the stories between them…and that most likely means you or me might be next. Maybe some freak is tracking our machines, watching our every move, our extra parts to the stories…by god, I knew it! Those gaming companies! I knew they would be onto us! Trying to silence us!" He suddenly went dramatic with that bit, pretending to be shocked and horrified, before looking at her, and saying, in the most manly sounding voice he could muster "Lucy! If they take me…tell everyone…The Reapers are coming."

Lucy laughed. "I'll make sure to put it up on a social blog for people to see."

"Oh god, seriously? I'll only get noticed by several people girl. You need to go further, tell the press, fight dah powah!"

The pink haired girl agreed to, sitting back and chuckling, as did Richard, a brief silence washed over them, as they looked out to the land again, before Lucy decided to talk. "Hey, Richard? You won't, leave, right?"

He gave her an awkward expression, looking at his wrist, pretending to have a watch on. "Wellll I gotta go home sometime Lucy. I don't live in the same house as you and Chad ya see, and I'm sure Chad wouldn't like to come home and find me snoozing on his bed, or in yours."

"No, I mean as in whatever has happened to them…you won't leave too, right?"

Richard dropped the joking, and gave her a proper smile. "Lucy, I ain't going nowhere. I'll still be around, caring for old people and living my life when Chad and Blue reappear. I promise you, okay? I'll be here for you if you need to start wailing about Chad still not being home, or if you just need to annoy someone."

Lucy was relieved. "Thank you. That's all I needed to hear…"

….

…..

"Hey, do you think Chad will suddenly reappear and claim his from the future, with a DeLorean? Maybe with the Doctor out of Doctor Who?" Richard asked.

"If he does, I'll make sure to clout him for making us worry even for a day."

* * *

It was now January the 11th.

Chad still hadn't reappeared, and Blue remained offline.

Richard felt himself become more and more distracted in his work as the days went by. He couldn't help but worry over his friends, especially in the evenings, as he would open up the chat service as normal…and only find Lucy online. Sometimes.

Today though, something else was there to distract him, something that he hoped would help his mood with the way things were at the moment. Today, was his birthday.

He decided to have a meal out, and, after having not seen Lucy for the last 9 days, asked her to come and join him, as well as his girlfriend, and his two more local friends, a girl named Rachel, and a guy named Jason.

Rachel couldn't make it due to currently being around her grandparents, and Jason couldn't make because of his own work.

This left a rather, awkward, situation. Ariel Williams, Richards girl, was rather jealous of other girls, and would often become wary of any that became Richards friend. Lucy was especially such one. It isn't normally so bad when Chad is around, but whenever Lucy and Richard met up without him, she was especially watchful. This distrusting issue had been around since Richard and Ariel got together, due to her previous boyfriends. She was slightly smaller then Richard, was currently 21, had a rather large bust, pale skin, a curvy body, and dark, long ginger hair, with green eyes.

Ariel and Richard met in School, in the same year as he met Lucy and Chad. Of all the girls in the place, Ariel was his focus, often making sure to save her a seat next to him, talking to her and no one else, and being a generally nice guy. Nothing seemed to come of it when his school time ended, but two years later, whilst Richard was in college, there she was again, and she was the one who plucked up the courage to ask him out, which he quickly said yes to.

Things were great between them since, just she's alert on women, and often refuses to join in on whatever Richard, Chad and Lucy do, preferring to stick to her friend, Rachel. Richard was fine with it, and so was Ariel, who in honesty, had no beef with Lucy…till she saw how pretty she was and how Richard was playful with her. That got her alarm bells ringing, and what made it worse, was Richard being honest with Ariel about everything, even his small crush on Lucy way back when. As Chad kept reminding him, 'Why? What in your head thought that was the best thing to admit to your girlfriend, when your still currently a FRIEND to said girl?!'

And now here all three of them were. Richard, Lucy, and Ariel. They were sitting at a wooden table in a restaurant called Harvester. Richard was wearing a black buttoned shirt, with black trousers and black shiny shoes, while Lucy wore a purple buttoned short sleeve top, with black trousers, and black shoes, having her hair neatly combed back. Ariel was wearing a dark pink top, with white jeans, and dark pink shoes, her long hair straightened and neat.

They had their drinks on the table, with Richard having red wine, Ariel having a glass of a drink called Pimms, and Lucy having simply a glass of lemonade. Richard was busy looking at the food menu, as Ariel looked over at Lucy, and made an, obvious strained try at conversation. "So…Any sign of Chad?"

Lucy shook her head. "The police seem to be giving up on him."

"Well, maybe he'll come back soon."

"Yeah, I hope so."

Richard suddenly spoke up. "You know what? I've finally decided. I need me some crackerjack prawns for starters."

Ariel focused on him. "I'm guessing that means you'll be having your favourite for the main course then? Sirloin steak?"

"Medium rare. You know what I love baby." he answered, giving her a little kiss on the cheek…something that Lucy was sure Ariel was smug about when she briefly looked at Lucy.

Soon, a waiter came, and their order was made. Once the guy who had taken their order departed, Ariel told them she was going to go to the salad bar quickly to a get small bowl of the green stuff. As she departed, Lucy mumbled. "I see she's still as defensive as ever around me…"

Richard managed to overhear it. "Hmm? You talkin' about Ariel?"

Lucy looked at him and nodded. "Of course."

The brown haired boy sighed. "Since when isn't she? Shes never liked me having, what I deem, as pretty girls for friends. That ugly mug friend of hers and mine, Rachel, she's fine with, but you? Still hasn't changed an ounce. It's like she thinks you'll bag me up and take me to a secret cave to force me to love you or something. Sometimes it feels like I'm her personal treasure."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Richard shrugged. "I suppose. But I don't like being it when she's protecting said treasure from those who have no desire to steal it…wonder what treasure she thinks of me as. Pile of gold? Silver? A diamond?…hell maybe a golden cock, I dunno."

Lucy chuckled. "I doubt the last one Richard."

"Heh…" Richard then grabbed his wine glass, taking a sip of the bitter red liquid inside it. "So, how's Emily holding up?"

"She's, doing okay. For what the circumstances are right now…"

"And what about you? I've noticed you haven't been online much lately. You've started to get me worried."

"It's nothing. I just, really didn't feel like talking at times. I just wanted to focus on Chad, focus on how to find him…"

That's when Ariel returned. She swiftly changed the conversation to Richards work. As the meal went by, Richard talked about pretty much each and every resident, and explained how they were and such, often slapping the odd joke in-between about them, trying to keep the mood cheerful.

Soon they left the restaurant, standing outside it, at its car parking area, the cold night air showing in their breath. Lucy watched as Richard and Ariel had a little hug and kiss together, talking to themselves, then, she begun to walk off, heading down the pathway, beginning her trek back to the train station.

She really wanted Chad here now. She hated him being gone. She couldn't help but wonder if he was even alive now. Had he been killed? His body dumped somewhere? Left bleeding to death, with no one around him?

She tried to clear her head of those thoughts, as she came to some traffic lights that had a pedestrian crossing, waiting for the little green man to signal her to go across.

That's when he walked up to her, surprising her. Richard. "Hey, you could've said 'Thanks for paying' ya know."

"Richard?" she quickly looked around. "Where's-"

"Ariel? Ah she's getting her dad to pick her up. She's pretty tired and didn't feel like walking. I told her I was gonna make sure you at least got to the train station okay. She didn't like it, but eh, my choice." He motioned at Lucy to start walking with him, as the green man lit up.

Lucy smiled at him, thankful that she wasn't going to be alone for now. "Thanks."

"Totally welcome."

As they ventured down the lit pathways, leading them to the station, Lucy needed to ask him something, just reassurance. "Do you think his dead?"

Richard looked at her, baffled for a second. "Who? The old man we passed ten seconds ago? Nah. He's rotting away, but he isn't dead yet."

She frowned. "I meant Chad."

"Ah right. Want the honest truth?"

She nodded.

"He isn't. I doubt that idea completely. I mean, I guess I would have a feeling if he was, a cold chill down my spine or something. So, since I haven't, his bound to still be alive, probably exploring the capital wasteland, London, eating tins of spam and chips and hiding from Deathclaws with top hats and monocles. 'What what? A southerner in our city? Well that just won't do dear chap! Let us feast on him with some tea and scones!' 'Good idea old bean!'"

The pink haired girl gave out a small giggle. "London as a location for a fallout game…yeah, I can picture it pretty well."

"Just picture a giant super mutant holding on top of Big Ben and swinging around like King Kong. That'll be the game cover. Brick Top from Snatch would be one of the villains, of course. 'Harold? Feed 'em to the radscorpions.' 'Get us a cup of Nuka Cola, would you Turkish?' 'You take Quantum?' 'Nah thanks Turkish…I'm bright enough.'"

Lucy was thankful for his joking, and they continued discussing about a possible England edition of a fallout game, helping her stop thinking about Chad, all the way to the train station, where the last train back to Chad's village was preparing to depart. Richard escorted her all the way to the actual platform, looking at the train, as Lucy was about to get on.

"Well, looks like we have to say goodbye." Lucy said, with an obvious hint of sadness.

"Yep. You got your nice warm bed to head back to, and I've got Mass Effect to go back to."

"Again with that game?"

"Hey, it's only my 8th play through. Gimme a break. It's enjoyable."

"I thought you would rather play that game Ariel bought you for your birthday, The Orange Box."

Richard chuckled. "Lucy, you know as well as I do that I already had that game. I couldn't show disappointment to her. I'll just, I dunno, take to the one of the game stores and sell it to 'em. Maybe I'll get the next wrestling game or…." Richard seemed to stop talking, staring at something further down the platform, close to the end of the train Lucy was due on.

Lucy of course, had to turn and look to see whatever it was Richard was looking at.

There was a man, standing there, staring at them, with seemingly faint, glowing green eyes. He had tanned coloured skin, his hair was brown, thick and of medium length, twisted into dreadlocks. He wore a black shirt, with a light brown bandoleer that went over his shoulder and around his waist, around his neck were two necklaces, one, had an eagle at the middle of it and was golden, the other, silver, with a wolf instead. He wore tightened, leather black trousers, black army boots, and dark grey knee pads. Above all this, he wore a brown, sleeveless duster, which looked filthy, as did the rest of his clothing.

Seconds just passed, with this strange man watching them, before he briefly looked a door leading onto the train, then back at them, before stepping on. Lucy looked back at Richard, slightly concerned. "Richard, who, who was that?"

"…I suggest you stay round mine tonight. I'll call Emily in a minute. You're not getting on that train."

She was surprised at that response. "Huh?"

"I just have a very, very bad feeling about that man Lucy. Come on." With that, Richard was heading back to some stairs nearby, which led back to the ticket booths, and back out of the station. He stopped as he got to the steps, looking at her. "Trust me on this. I got some real bad vibes from that guy."

Lucy eventually agreed, and followed him, both heading outside the station, where Richard first called a taxi for them. As he was on the phone, Lucy looked to where the train was, as it started to depart…and saw the man in the windows of a carriage, looking at them, as it went off. She had to admit now, he is quite creepy.

Once they got in the Taxi, Richard contacted Emily and informed her that Lucy was staying round his. The excuse being that Lucy missed the train by just a minute. She was fine with it, so long as Lucy was okay. Once Richard finished the call, he relaxed into the back seat, looking at Lucy. "God that fella freaked me the hell out…"

"Do you recognize him?"

He was obviously thinking for a moment, before shaking his head. "No. At least, I don't think I know him."

"Huh?"

He was trying to figure it out, his face was showing he was. "I don't know Lucy. It's like he is familiar to me, but, how do I put this…Not in real life. Just looking at him made me feel like I knew him, yet I didn't."

"Okay, where do you think you know him from?" Lucy pressed.

"Look Lucy, it's probably just coincidence alright?"

"Richard just say it."

"A character, from what we were talking about. Fallout. He looked like a Fallout character, vaguely…ish."

It was obvious he was completely unsure, but whatever the case, the guy was odd, and Lucy was grateful that she didn't have to get on that train…it was almost empty, so her and some strange man almost alone for 15 to 20 minutes? Not an idea she liked.

* * *

It was now the 12th of January.

Close to the border between Alaska and Canada, there was a hidden base. One that almost everyone outside it didn't know existed. It was named Pandora's Box. It had no visible signs on the surface of it's location, to the travellers around that area, it seemed like all there was, was grasslands, and a large forest.

Pandora's Box was deep underground, out of sight, and out of mind. It was the place that even people such as the kings, queens, government officials and even the US president were left unaware of. It was created in secret, and designed to store a corrupting force that existed, one that couldn't be allowed for the whole world to see, along with many other things. One item it held, was a gateway, in the same shape as a prop from the show on this planet called Stargate…except this one, was real, and functioning.

This was found out by Keaton Al'Keriff, a once general under the US Military, he was especially requested to come here. After 12 years of being here, he managed to get the gateway to function with the aid of a boy, and departed from this world, to somewhere he truly never realized until he stepped through.

What he left behind, was a friend of his, that became his go-between, his own personal envoy. Khamsin Martinez. He was a military man much like Keaton, and served under him during the Gulf war on this world. Keaton liked him due to his unwavering loyalty to his country, and to his commanding officer. Wherever Keaton went, Khamsin gladly followed. He was 21 when he joined the ranks, and after the Gulf War, remained in service to Keaton, until he was reassigned once Keaton 'vanished' off the radar in 1997. From there Khamsin served in the Kosovo war, the Second Liberian Civil War, and finally joined in the Iraq war.

Unfortunately, in 2004, as the conflict was within it's occupation stage, Khamsin was hit by an explosive, and had little choice but to have his legs removed and made to return home. A decision that broke the man, and led him down a road of depression, drugs and drink, as he felt completely worthless.

Until Keaton contacted him, and made him vanish as well, to the public eye. Now in the new year that is 2010, the trooper was within Pandora's Box, accepted due to the fact he had no living relatives, and his only real friend was Keaton himself. He was granted artificial robotic legs, created within the base, to help him move around much better then previously, a feat he never expected, but this place, it was more advanced then anything he'd ever seen before, and they were determined to keep everything they had to this place.

He now stood within a massive steel room, the lights hanging off the ceiling, lighting the place up for them all. It had several computer desks, wiring spewed over the floors, and had several scientists around. The center attraction, what Khamsin was looking at, was the gateway. The Stargate like device.

Khamsin was now aged 39, is about 6 and half feet tall, muscled, with his blond hair done into a high and tight style of a haircut, as in shaved right down on the sides, but he had hair left in the middle of his head. He had blue eyes, was a white Caucasian, and wore a black shirt with an emblem on its right chest area, which was a golden box, half open, covered in greek patterns. He had a dark green jacket, black trousers, covering over his grey mechanical legs, big brown military boots, wore his dog tags around his neck, and had black fingerless gloves.

He was waiting for someone. He was to report all activity of Pandora's Box to Keaton, no matter what it was, whilst the general was in the new place, the place just known as a Parallel Universe to most of those here.

Soon, a woman arrived in the room, carrying a clipboard. This was Pandora. Her hair was long and green, with red eyes, white skin, and wore a black outfit, that had the same logo as what Khamsin had on his shirt. She looked to be in her twenties, as she walked up to the man, passing him the clipboard. "Here, this is the overall report of what happened yesterday."

"Thanks babe." The trooper answered, walking a little away from her whilst looking at the paperwork on the metal board. Being called 'babe' always made her sigh in annoyance. She hated hearing that off him.

The man seemed to paused and stop moving after a little while of reading, looking up on the papers. "Wait a moment. Subject 64 AND 76? Again?" He looked over to Pandora, concerned. "I swear to god this is gotta be the fifth time incidents have occurred with these two at once."

Pandora corrected him. "It's the ninth time, actually. Granted you weren't here for the first few, but I would've expected you to look back and check by now."

Khamsin glared at her. "Har har. Well I don't spend my time reading up on the old shit like you do little lady. So what happened this time?"

Pandora shrugged. "It's all written there you know, but, like always, you want me to explain verbally, don't you?"

Khamsin didn't answer, meaning that was more or less his way of expressing 'Just get to it'.

"Sigh, we sent scientist Daniel Cruise and a couple of the guards into Subject 64's chamber. They were just trying to make verbal contact with the decaying, half eaten giant zombie reptile thing. As you know, it's been moving, showing signs of activity in recent years. So, yesterday, they tried again, said hello, tried to ask where it came from, what it was and so on."

"Got the same gibberish language as the other incidents?"

"Well, actually, yes and no. at first it was talking its foreign language, but…and this is when the incident started, as Cruise asked one of the guards to move closer to check on its condition, it attacked and ate the guy, and spoke in our language for moment, before Cruise noticed THAT certain bright purple flickering glint in 64's eyes and hearing it mumble out those three words. Cruise fled the room with the remaining guard."

Khamsin himself now sighed, knowing where this was going. "The purple glint of death and 'Unahzaal Ul Nir' huh? Take it the moment they saw and heard that, Subject 76 showed activity?"

"Yep. The humanoid figure started getting restless, standing up, walking around her cell, and beginning to shout in pain. That's when we triggered the lockdown sequence to try and keep her isolated. Didn't work."

"Tore the doors and gates apart with it's freakishly long claw hands and arms to get to Cruise and the guard?"

Pandora nodded. "All we could do was trap them and keep everyone else out of the way of the Subject's target. We managed to once again put it to sleep, by gassing the entire corridor where it…slaughtered Cruise and the guard in…"

Khamsin noticed a little hesitation in her voice. "Take it the screams of that Subject still give you the chills huh? I'm also guessing we still lack a way to keep it and 64 from…whatever contact they have?"

"Sadly yes, we still lack a way. But, we have confirmed what their exact connection is, the testing results six days ago are in the written report. 76 is…human, on the outside form anyway, but her DNA seems to worryingly match to subject 84 and 89, and has traces of 64's. We assume it's due to having consumed a decent amount of the cell DNA of 64, most likely through drinking contaminated water near the Mexican coastal city of Salina Cruz, where we found 64 and 63, leading to her mutations."

"Right right. 63. That's the huge shellfish thing isn't it? Down in the depths of the sea, seemingly in a state of hibernation right?"

"That's it. The one that had the carcass of 64 before we extracted it."

"Back to 64, what did it say anyway, before it sent its little slaughter puppet on the poor scientist and the goon with him?"

"Nothing special, really. Just decided to say in the recording that 'We are inferior.'. The rest was the normal strange talk. Both are secure and contained again. We cleaned up the mess throughout the night."

Khamsin looked at the clipboard again now. "And everything else is normal. Okay. I'll go and give the update to General Keaton. Thanks again babe." With that, he left the room, heading to what was, once, Keatons office in this place.

He walked in, heading over to a desk which now belong to him, and sat down, looking a small electronic device embedded into the top of the desk, pressing a few buttons on it, before a hologram screen appeared before him, which was blank for a moment, and making a beeping sound, before the sound stopped, and the screen flickered for a moment, before showing Keaton Al'Keriff, with his blue and brown eyes, tanned skin and grey medium, combed back hair. "Khamsin. I take it you have a report for me then?"

Khamsin explained the incident easily enough, and said everything else was pretty much in order. "To be honest, there hasn't been anything new since you left General. Kinda feeling like I'm missing out on some action." He put his feet up on the desk, leaning back on the chair.

"It's actually Grand Commander now."

Khamsin looked surprised. "…How'd ya get that rank?

"From taking over their military regime here…it's, much much bigger then what we're used to back home Khamsin. I could actually use you here. Which leads me to a request I recently received from Dr Wily."

"Oh? The loony haired fella that led you to a 'Game Master' previously? What does he want now?"

"He wants another Game Master."

Khamsin was a little baffled at that. "Excuse me? There's more then one?"

Keaton nodded. "From what he has gathered. This new one should be more receptive to us compared to the previous. I want you to get him, and bring him to us as soon as."

"And where is this guy?"

"His name came up from the previous search. He is actually a friend to the last Game Master. I'm transmitting the data over. It should be easy to cross with what we already know."

Next to the holographic screen, another screen appeared, showing up all kinds of data, mostly on Chad Malyan, but some of it on the whereabouts of the target…Richard Chandos.

Khamsin was not impressed. "Seriously? I have to go to merry fucking England? Come on General…"

"Albert Wily wants it done Khamsin. Just get over there, get this, Richard Chandos, and get back here. We clear on this soldier?"

The trooper wasn't happy, but after he moved his feet off the desk, he stood up, and gave Keaton a salute. "Yes sir. Crystal clear."

As Keaton disconnected the call, Pandora had walked in. "I take it we have a target to find then?"

"Jesus fuck babe! Isn't anyone allowed privacy anymore?!"

Pandora smirked, shaking her head, and crossing her arms. "Nothing is allowed to go by me. Keaton knows I monitor all communications. Shall we get you a group together and arrange transport?"

"What?" Khamsin moved away from the desk, looking at Pandora with a little disbelief. "And just walk up to this guy we're after and ASK him to come with us? Didn't the last one need that Prometheus brat and pretty much several squads to contain and capture?"

"As Keaton said. This one should be more receptive to us. I doubt you need brute force."

"Shit, just as I was getting in the mood to punch out a limey."

* * *

It was now the 13th of January.

Lucy had spent most of the day before with Richard, after the little freaking out at the train station on the 11th, and went home in the evening, this time in the car of Richards step father, Brian. Richards mother's name was Elaine, who had been more then happy to let Lucy stay the night, and then ask Brian to take her safely home.

Today, it was another day at work for Richard. Life had to continue on, and these old people couldn't look after themselves. It was as his working day was going by, he would often look out the front windows of the place he worked in…and he was sure he noticed a black, sleek looking car, just parked there, every few hours, driving away, then coming back. The windows were blacked out, so whoever was inside it didn't want to be seen.

Once it hit 8 o'clock in the evening, he was finally free from his work place…well, so he should've been, except the paperwork needed to be wrapped up and finished, it took him an extra 20 minutes due to someone else's laziness. Once he had that done, he went to the male locker room to get changed, and then, he found he had missed a phone call from his girlfriend.

Once he was in his normal gear, checking his wallet was still in his side pocket on the inside of his coat, he grabbed his mobile and gave her a call. "Sup?"

Ariel, didn't sound that happy. "So…your mom just told me who stayed a couple of nights ago."

"Yeah, Lucy did. So? She slept in the spare room."

"Why?"

Richard gave an irritated sigh. "Because she missed the train Ariel. It was late and I wasn't going to leave her in the middle of the night."

"Are you sure that was it? Nothing else?"

"I'm positive. You seriously seem to think she's after something, don't you?"

"Look, she's a little bit, vulnerable. She needs people to be there since Chad is gone, and since you are such a good friend, she might want a lot of…comfort from you."

"Doesn't mean I'll give her the D Ariel."

"The D?"

"Ugh, the dick. I don't just make love to anyone Ariel, you should know that by now. It's been 3 years already. I've only loved you." after he said that, he mentally added to himself 'And a few others but let's not cause chaos here.'

"…Alright Richard. Sorry. Just, got a little worried, that's all."

"It's okay sweetheart. I'll see you on the 15th, alright?"

"Alright. Wuv you."

"Wuv you too sweetheart." With that, Richard shut off the call, grabbed his backpack with his work gear that needed washing, putting his mobile in there, then headed out.

…And then he noticed that, besides the night staff cars, only two…there was that black car again. Not just the one though as he originally believed…there was three of them, all parked up right outside his workplace.

"O…kay."

Then, out of the one of cars, from the backseat, was Khamsin, along with him, the driver and a person sitting in the front, all wearing black jackets, white shirts, black trousers, and had black shows on…and were carrying pistols. "Well well well, you must be Richard Chandos. We've been waiting patiently for you." The military guy began walking up to Richard.

"...Americans huh? Well, Y'all must be mistaken. I's can't be the boy ya looking for." Richard was taking the mickey by doing a heavy southern American like voice.

Khamsin wasn't impressed. "Don't try and be funny boy."

"I tell you whut, why don't yer tell me why y'all think you want little ol' me mm'kay? Cos I'm mighty tired from working."

"People I work for need to have a chat with you."

"Uh huh…and these people are…?"

"Folks who need your presence in some business they have. It relates to you." The trooper was trying to beat around the bush. Pandora cautioned him to try and be discreet so not as to make Richard try to resist. The perception filter they prepared sorted out everything else, to those around and within the home, there was nothing out here but the two night staff cars.

"That's not helping your case. If you don't mind, I just remembered I need to pick up my phone in the locker room…I'll be back to continue this conversation in a moment." Richard was turning to head back into the home, obviously trying to get away from Khamsin and probably try to contact others.

Khamsin couldn't allow it, so allowed two names to slip to try and convince the boy, from what he read up on the way, they should be known to him. "It's two people. Someone called Keaton Al'keriff and another called Albert Wily."

That made Richard stop.

He turned back around, looking at Khamsin in a worried way. "Did, did you just say Keaton…Al'keriff? And Albert Wily?" He looked at the guys with the soldier, noticing their suits and being armed. "…Are, are you guys…the FBI?"

Khamsin went along with that for now. "You could say we are kid. The two I mentioned are the ones who need to have a word with you."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Are…are you being…oh shit. This isn't about the stories is it?! Come on it's only a little harmless fun between friends! I didn't mean to make Keaton seem like an idiot and fail to do anything right! Nor did I mean to make Wily seem like a mad scientist in several ways! Blame Capcom for that one! I mean jesus christ guys, I can't be in trouble for a little MSN chat can I?"

Khamsin didn't answer, instead, he walked over to the car he came from, and opened one of the doors to the backseats. "If you possibly could, kid?" motioning to the seats.

Richard couldn't say no. This was a major worry now, and rather then anger these guys, he would rather get this resolved. He walked over, and got in, putting his backpack on his lap. Khamsin closed the door, walked over to the other side of the car, and got in next to Richard. The two that had been with Khamsin also returned to the vehicle, and started it up, and right after, the other two cars started their engines as well, all of them leaving the road where the care home was, and heading out of the town.

The inside of the car was well lit by two small lights on the roof, had black leather seats, navy blue carpeting, and the windows were made of reflective material, as Richard noticed they could, besides a little darker shading, see outside perfectly, while outside they could see nothing within. Khamsin soon spoke up, talking to those in the front. "Alright guys, make sure the perception filter is off, and get in contact with Charlie Charlie One Two. Let them know we're coming."

"Perception filter?" Richard had to ask.

"All you need to know is that it stopped folks from even knowing we were there talking to you."

"…Wow. Didn't think the USA could have that level of tech without the world knowing about it."

"You'd be surprised on what we have elsewhere." Khamsin answered, leaning back and relaxing in his seat.

Richard looked at his bag for a moment, still concerned over the situation he was in, trying to keep himself calm and collected. "So, where exactly are we going to meet these two?"

"Over towards the border of Alaska and Canada boy. We'll be driving to Lydd airport, taking our private plane to the US, refuel, then head on over to our little location."

The guy was now shocked again. "I'm sorry?! We're going halfway around the world for this?! Jesus fuck, do I really deserve so much resources spent just to possibly get a little slap on the wrist on adding them into a story?"

Khamsin had no idea what Richard was talking about, but just went along with this, 'story' business. "Yeah, your worth it to them. Sure, whatever. Just keep quiet for now alright? We can talk a little more on the plane."

Richard quickly nodded, and sat back, looking down at his bag again. He didn't want to anger Khamsin if they were the FBI. This sounded serious, beyond a prank. It can't be to kidnap him, hell, he ain't worth even that, he's a normal guy, wiping old peoples asses and getting them dressed for a living.

He looked over to the soldier again, and noticed the logo on his shirt. "Uhh, sir? I just have one more, small little question?"

Khamsin looked over, his face showed he was now annoyed, wanting to rest. They had been waiting on Richard for most of the day, not precisely knowing when he would leave his work. "Go ahead then."

" What's your name and what's the logo on your shirt mean?"

Khamsin frowned. "That's two goddamn questions, idiot. The name's Khamsin Martinez and the logo on my shirt represents the place we're going to, named Pandora's Box. Done now?"

"Yes sir." With that, Richard looked away, outside the window on his side of the car. He heard Khamsin mumble 'Fucking limey' before resting again.

Richard though, was glad to have some information now…a certain someone could look it up for him when he gets a chance to call them.

* * *

It had been an hour since he went with the FBI…and he was now on their private plane. A goddamn private jet airplane. And it wasn't that small, it was a least half the size of public transport plane.

And luxury, it certainly had. It was spacious, had a mini bar, red carpet, only several chairs for them, which were just large and comfy, and stupidly huge collection of music to choose from. He fucking loved it. The guys who were with them mostly stayed at the front of the plane, which was ten of them, as he know knew once they all got out of the cars on arrival.

It was only him and Khamsin, who, once the plane took off, left Richard alone, seemingly annoyed by his music choice. All of the soundtracks installed were to make Richard feel more comfortable with the situation, according to Pandora. He chose one song, and put it on repeat, turning it up to the point that the entire personal area in the plane was filled with the music.

Mechanical Resonance from the Sonic Adventure soundtrack. He had asked Khamsin if he didn't mind what song Richard put on, and he said he didn't, so it surprised Richard when he picked it, turned it up, popped open a plastic bottle of 7up from the mini bar, sat back in his chair, leaning it back as far as possible, and bobbing his head to the song, that Khamsin then left, shaking his head.

It was as the plane was almost ready for take off, Richard quickly remembered who he needed to call. He looked around, and spotting his backpack, having flung it into a nearby corner as he got on the plane, exclaiming in shock about how this is a suspected person is treated. He got off his seat, putting the bottle of fizzy down, and headed over, grabbing and unzipping the bag, reaching in and pulling out his mobile phone.

He knew this would be the only time he had to use it, as he never bothered to set up a provider for outside the UK when he needed to make calls, so, he went over to the flat screen computer on the wall nearby, turning down the music, and made the call, as the plane begun moving towards the runway, with the lights nearby his chair and other the spare ones suggesting he sit down and fasten the seatbelt. He walked over and sat down as the phone rang. He kept his voice low, incase the FBI agents might try to listen in. "Come on Lucy…Come on…"

He got an answer after a while, just not what he wanted. "You have reached the voicemail service for, 0,7,7,3,2-"

"Oh Goddamnit Lucy! Not now! Why of all days have you chosen to go to bed early, it had to be today!?"

"-Please leave your message, after the tone. When you have finished recording, please hang up."

*beep*

Richard gave a frustrated sigh. "Lucy, why why why…alright, listen, I'm in some rather hot water right now. I'm, getting dragged to the other side of the world. For real. The FBI, well a sub-group of them called 'Pandora's Box' picked me up after my work, led by a guy named Khamsin Martinez. I'm currently on a private jet, being escorted to somewhere between Canada and Alaska. It's all because of something to do with two guys who are named Keaton and Wily. I think it's to do with the story? Probably they looked it up, saw the names, and presumed I know something? I seriously don't fucking know right now, but I'm deeply worried. We're taking off from Lydd airport. Try and look some of this up for me girl. Try and find out something, if it's a terrorist group or something, tell the police, obviously."

He looked outside one of the windows, and noticed the plane was on the runway now. "Listen, I need to go. We're about to depart…looks like you'll be alone for a little while, I can't hang around sadly. But hey, I promise you we'll meet again soon, alright? Either this is a major misunderstanding, or they think I'm worth a large sum of cash…with the luxury around me though, I think it's the former…goodbye Lucy. Take care." With that, he stopped the call, quickly going over and putting the phone back in his bag, before rushing back to his seat, and putting the belt on, waiting, as the plane began to speed up.

Soon enough, the plane was up within the starry sky, leaving England behind. Richard could only wait for the belt seat sign to turn off, as the plane was reaching it's optimal altitude. He looked out the window again…and something hit him. Between Canada and Alaska...

He mumbled quietly to himself, the thoughts racing to his head. "Near the border of Canada and Alaska…no…it couldn't be…is that why they think I know of something? Jesus I pray to fucking god it isn't gonna be a huge grey fortified building or else I'm really gonna be seen as a spy."

He noticed the sign was now off, and undone his seatbelt, walking over to the flat screen computer and turning the music back up, only a little bit, not as loud as it was previously, that it made it hard for Khamsin to talk over it.

That's when the door leading to the front of the plane opened, and out of it, came a woman wearing a complete white uniform, which had golden buttons down the left side of the front, and had the Pandora's Box logo on it, and she wore flat white shoes, and white gloves.

Her hair was shoulder length and purple, and she looked in her late 20's, with a far eastern complexion, and with pale, milky skin, a decent bust size, and was wearing glasses, with red lenses, covering her rather, seemingly red pupils, and she was holding a little computer pad. She gave him a smile, and spoke with a sweet voice. "Ah, Mister Chandos."

"Oh, hey there." Richard gave her a little smile, then went back to his seat, picking up his fizzy drink on the way.

"My name is Medina Thelma. I'm here to make sure you remain relaxed while we journey to our destination. Converse with you, serve you drinks, food, change the music for you, whatever you need."

Richard nodded. "Alright. Thanks. So I take it your part of this… 'FBI group' then as well?" He motioned her to have a seat.

Medina walked over and sat in another seat close by. "For eight years I've worked with them. I'm often placed on their planes to serve those on them. They can't just hire anyone, afterall. They have a lot of secrets that can't be allowed out for the public to know."

"…I take it I'm going to find out a few of these secrets and get sworn to never speak of them?"

Medina looked at him, smiling a little. "Probably after the meeting you'll have your memory wiped and be placed into an insane asylum so you never get a chance to speak to others again. We can't just expect the memory wipe to last forever, you might recall something."

Richard stared at her, horrified.

"It's a little joke Mister Chandos."

Richard leaned back into his chair, breathing a sigh of relief. "Goddamnit, I'm already tense as it is lady, I don't need heart attacks."

"You shouldn't need to worry. From what I heard about you and what they…want to see you for, it will be quite rewarding. I'm glad they did not need to use force for you. The previous person was made to remain unconscious for the entire journey after he was retrieved in worry that he would attempt to escape."

"You were there for him as well?"

Medina nodded. "Although as you can possibly guess, he wasn't very talkative. I was there just to make sure he remained in a peaceful slumber."

"What was his name?" Richard asked.

"Ah, I'm not allowed to say. One of the secrets." Medina tapped the side of her nose a little.

Richard nodded. Should've guessed really. He looked to himself, and noticed a faint smell coming off him. "Hey, uhh, Medina? Does this plane have a washroom, or a shower or something?"

"Oh, we have a washroom. You can use the basin to wash your body if you want. We only have bars of soap though. If you need to shave, I can get you a razor."

Richard got out of the chair, as she got out of hers. "That would be nice. Thanks."

He had a wash, a shave, and soon sat himself back down, hardly talking to the woman from there on, watching out of the window, the music still playing within. He didn't notice how heavy his eyelids were at first and soon found himself leaning back in the chair, looking ahead, eyes closing…and soon, he drifted off to sleep.

"….Mister Chandos?"

…

"Mister Chandos?"

'God just give me another ten minutes, goddamn alarm clock…' Richard thought in his head.

"Mister Chandos, please wake up."

'…Since when did my alarm clock talk?'

Richard slowly opened his eyes, looking around, everything being a blur for a few moments, before coming into focus…and he realized he wasn't at home, in bed. He was still on the plane, with a small head pillow on the back of his head, and a blue silk cover over his body.

He slowly turned he head, looking outside the window, noticing they had landed at a small airport, just coming off the runway. It was still night time. He yawned, moving the cover a little, stretching his arms over his head, before leaning back, and looking to the other side, finally noticing Medina looking at him from her seat, smiling at him…for several seconds in his mind, her glasses, hair colour, skin and uniform made him think of a character he knew of, before shaking his head, and smiling back. "Hey there. What's the problem?"

"We've arrived at our destination. You'll be taking a helicopter from here to the location you're needed in."

"…Wait what? I slept through all the flight?"

Medina nodded. "I made sure you got comfortable, even managed to get that pillow behind your head, you were snoring after that, for most of the trip. That care work you do must take quite a bit out of you. Dementia ward isn't it?"

Richard looked a little surprised. "Yes…did we talk about that then?"

"No, but it's written on the profile we have on you, I've been going through it on my computer whilst you've been asleep. You work thirty three hours a week, monthly pay is eight hundred to nine hundred depending on bank holidays and extra shifts you do. You care for thirty six residents, thirty one of them have advanced dementia, you work with two nurses and six other carers on that ward, and you're regarded as a senior carer due to your time in the home."

"…I need to get this question out of the way, here and now. What is it the FBI guys don't know about me?"

Medina got out of her chair, and walked over to the door leading out of the plane, opening it, letting the cool air outside sweep in, motioning at Richard to come over. "When they need to know a subject, they check through every possible place for information. But do we know everything?…There is only one person that could answer that question for you, and we'll be seeing her within an hour."

* * *

He was sat in a military transport helicopter, with Khamsin on one side, and Medina on the other, with him holding his backpack on his lap, as they had departed from a place known as Eagle airport, and had now been flying for the past forty minutes. He yawned loudly, still trying to wake fully up.

His stomach grumbled, his energy reserves low. He needed some caffeine soon. He hated…mornings, without caffeine? He wasn't sure if it was even morning at this time over here, he had to think about it, recalling the fact that in this area it would be nine hours back…it was still night time. He sighed. His brain still demanded caffeine regardless.

"Hey Medina, are we there yet?" He asked her.

"We're no more then a few minutes away now."

"Do you guys have coffee there?"

"Of course. We need shit like that to keep us going on busy days like this." Khamsin answered in Medina's place.

"Good, because I need some. Can't focus on anything without that good stuff."

"Oh, I'm sure this will wake you up." Medina pointed out of one of the windows, which Richard looked out of.

In the moonlight, just about seen, was a huge grassland, with a old, dirty looking helipad landing platform close to a massive forest on the edge of the said grassland. Richard looked carefully for anything else…nothing, any lights on the helipad, any signs of life, any buildings nearby...Not a hint. He was surprised, this was suppose to wake him up, a clear view of nothing but a nice area to have a picnic in and a helipad that was in a unused, dirty state?

He heard Khamsin then talk to the pilots. "Tell base to show itself. We're about to land."

The pilot answered back "They're just getting confirmation that the area is clear of any civilians before they open up, sir."

Richard focused on Medina. "It's not very impressive. Where is this 'base'? Is it cloaked?" he idly joked.

Medina shook her head. "No. That would be easy to find for people. Cloaking technology can't make matter disappear from the spot it's placed, they would just bump into it. I believe they only currently use it for the patrol groups within the forest."

"…Perception filters and cloaking devices…man, the world is fucked if you guys get angry…"

The pilot spoke once more. "Sir, area is clear, we're coming down to land now."

They reached the helipad, and the moment the helicopter touched it, close by, a huge segment of the grassland right next to the forest begun to move upwards, slowly but surely revealing a huge, dimly lit metal tunnel, with a road leading down into it, that seemed to under the forest area. Soon, a black limo drove up the road, stopping at the mouth of the tunnel, as Medina, Richard and Khamsin got off the helicopter.

Out of the limo, was a driver and an armed guard, holding an assault rifle, both wearing black uniforms with the Pandora's box logo on. Khamsin turned to the pilots in the helicopter, and waved at them to depart, as Medina lead Richard towards the limo. Richard himself right now, was really surprised. He knew out there, somewhere, there had to be super secret bases, but to actually see the entrance to one and heading to it? That wasn't what he expected in his lifetime.

Soon, he was propped inside the limo, with Medina next to him, Khamsin sitting opposite to him, with an armed trooper besides Khamsin. The driver and the other armed guard got back inside the limo as the helicopter left, turned the vehicle, and began to head inside, down the tunnel, which Richard was sure he could feel move little by little, no doubt as the opening begun to close again.

He was now trying to look out of the limo blackened windows, trying to see if he could spot anything.

"So, are you excited?" Medina asked.

"Little bit excited, little bit concerned, little bit scared, and a pitch of confusion. Why all this?"

Khamsin folded his arms over his chest, sitting back. "Don't worry boy. You'll get the answers soon enough. Knowing Pandora, she'll be waiting for us at the actual entrance to the place."

Richard looked over at the soldier. "Pandora?…I wonder if her parents named her or she chose that name, because if it's the former, good lord they certainly are odd folks. So what's she like? Old? Cranky? Wrinkles everywhere? Talks like a mad woman?"

"Just be on your goddamn best behaviour down here. We got all kinds of trouble already down here, and we don't need you to be added to the list of 'em."

The limo came to a stop, and Khamsin got out, followed by Medina and Richard, who put his backpack back on, and the one armed guard that was with them in the back came with them.

They were just outside this…huge goddamn steel circular door, made of something probably designed to survive a nuclear bomb. It was like it was made for a giant. They were standing on steel flooring, and nearby, were several other limos, a few guards walking around, and Pandora, who had begun walking over from the massive vault door as soon as they came out of the limo, at first without Richard noticing, until she was only a few steps away. "Khamsin, welcome back. Medina, good to see you again…and this must be Richard Chandos."

Richard had to admit. This chick wasn't what he expected…she was quite the hottie. He quickly put his hand out for her to shake. "Hey there, nice to meet you. You must be Pandora, right? And this…this is Pandora's Box?" motioning to the vault door.

Pandora shook his hand, but looked, for a moment, surprised, before frowning a little, looking at Khamsin. "When did you say the name of our base of operations?"

Khamsin was baffled by that question. "Huh? Oh, I think it was back in England, the boy asked, and I answered. Why?"

"You forgot to keep quiet until the subject is safely in our area…did you also forget to search him for any communication devices?"

Khamsin looked like as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, crap."

Pandora focused back on Richard. "…Hand over your bag. And anything on your pockets. Now."

Richard knew this was not the place to say no, and passed his bag over to Pandora, before taking his wallet out of his jacket, His keys to his house, along with several bits of scrap paper, a PSP that was mostly broken, only useful for playing music now, and even one of his old payslips he forgot about having. "Hey uh, while you have my bag, could you possibly wash my work clothes that are in there while you're at it? Would be nice to take back home some clean gear."

Pandora looked through his wallet, then passed it back, gave him his keys back as well, but kept hold of the paper, PSP and the payslip, whilst she opened the bag, and right away lifted out his mobile, and quickly checked through it. "Two calls. One was made to 'Pink Haired Cutie', and the other was received from 'Sexy Ariel', both made during the estimated time it took for you to extract him Khamsin…Medina, once we're inside, I want you to make a small diversion and take this to lab 3, ask them to trace the numbers, and find out about whoever he has called and who called him." She put the mobile back in the bag, and put the paper and PSP in there as well, and passed it to Medina. "Once that's done, tell them to incinerate the backpack and all its contents."

"Hey hold on, that's my work stuff! My music player! I need that!"

Pandora shook her head, as the circular door of the vault begun to turn and slowly rotate out of the way. "Not where you're going you won't. You'll see why shortly. Come, this way."

Richard was cursing under his breath as he put back his wallet and keys into his jacket, he wanted answers, not more goddamn waiting time.

They had now entered…what Richard expected to be a heavily armed reception area, but instead was a giant hall, littered with desks, computers, technology galore, scientists, Richard guessed by the lab coats, and guard walking around. This wasn't what he expected at all for a welcome area.

Pandora simply walked on ahead, Richard, Medina and Khamsin following, heading towards some double doors that seemed to have a panel next to them, a lift, no doubt. He could hear the scientists talk, and most of it sounded…way too much like science fiction gibberish, he was sure he was going to soon stumble onto the set of Star Trek, The Next Generation. The technology these guys were fiddling with…it looked just as bad as they were talking. He was pretty damn sure he just saw a dismantled lightsaber on one table at least.

Soon all four had stepped into a metal, simple square shaped lift, and Pandora pressed a button on the inside panel, the doors closing and the life began its descent. "So, Richard Chandos. How does it feel to suddenly be whisked away halfway across the world?"

Richard focused on her. "Confusing for who I am. I'm just a carer who seems to be in trouble with you guys in the FBI."

Pandora looked to Khamsin, and very quickly, figured it out, she looked back at Richard. "Whatever Khamsin said of them, is a lie. We are not part of them. Pandora's Box really doesn't come under any government. You aren't in any trouble."

The lad was relieved mentally about that, but still, it just left bigger question. "Then, why am I here?"

"You were chosen to be brought here."

"…Uh huh."

The lift doors opened, to a lighted hallway, made of metal, with doors on either sides of it, with small windows showing into whatever rooms they connected to. Pandora walked out, and once again, the others followed, Richard pretty much standing next to her. As they walked past a few doors, Medina left them, opening one of the doors and closing it right behind her.

Richard noticed in most of them, they were like the room upstairs, scientists, computers, wires and guards…good lord this place is busy.

"Tell me Richard, do you still believe in the idea of an Omniverse? That there are Universes, Multiverses, of all possibilities?" Pandora asked.

That brought his attention back to her, as they continued down the hallway. "Well yeah. There has to be more then just our Universe. I always firmly believed that. But then I'm sure you guys know all about me, right? Medina gave the major hint you do."

"We know you live in England, you have just become 22, you enjoy your video games, a decent amount of films, and have tastes, for certain cartoons. You are currently in a relationship, you have three pets at home, both your mother and father are alive and well but divorced. You have a skin condition that mostly effects your arms and legs, Irritant Contact Dermatitis, triggered by low humidity." Pandora stopped at the end of the hallway, to another lift, and next to it was the panel for it, but also, a small, darker panel, requiring a keycode, which she inputted quickly.

The lift doors opened, and they all stepped inside. She pressed another button, and down they went. "You have a clean dental record bar one temporary filling that has long gone. You're a fan of Star Trek, and a person who is weak agnosticism, as you follow no religion, but don't refuse the possibility of a god. You are a story writer too. Several years back you created a story named 'Kingdom Chu', expressing about a fourth kingdom in the game series Dynasty Warriors, it was taken off and you scrapped it, although ideas of it still remained within your later stories, especially something called the Dark Wolf, which was even used by another story writer."

Richard felt a little sheepish about being reminded of that story. "Oh yeah…Kinda trying to forget that mistake, alright? I kept the Dark Wolf because it was decent enough."

"Decent enough to become the major weapon for an evil character named Richard Wily in a story that has been created by a joint effort between you and Chad Malyan. A story that took years to do, and yet was simply, made up, as you both went along. It had several cast members in that were the major characters, while all others were supporters. One of the major cast members was a Net Navi called Roll. Someone you have rather a fond attachment to, as we managed to find you only on one fansite, which are made dedicated to characters…that one fansite belonged to Rol-"

"-Let's just stop this and say you do know everything about me."

Pandora gave him a small smirk. "We know alot. But not, everything."

The lift doors opened, and they were once again in another hallway. This one though, Richard felt a foreboding sense here. This hallway was much more dimly lit, and the doors here, were much, much more fortified looking, and lacked any small windows. Pandora walked off once more, with him and Khamsin following.

Every door Richard went by, something was off…very off. There were, screams, clicking noises, beast like roars, human laughter. It all felt like a nightmare with each door he passed. Some, were eerily silent thankfully, but one, one, as they reached the middle of the hallway, as Pandora stopped to speak to a couple of scientists in passing, drew his attention the most.

There was no noise, only silence from within. He gently put his hand on the door, and leaned on it, putting his ear on the cold metal.

…Nothing.

For a dozen seconds, nothing. But he could sense something, something was inside there.

And it answered suddenly, a huge, mighty frightening roar came from behind the door, making Richard catapult back in terror, hitting the floor and scrambling backwards until his back was pressed against the wall, panting like crazy.

Khamsin, Pandora and the scientists were all shocked by this. Pandora walked over to the door, then turned her attention to Richard, stepping over to him. One of the scientists, a man, quickly spoke up. "Pandora, that's subjects-"

"-64's room, I know. The door is locked, right?"

Khamsin checked it. "Sealed up babe."

"Then…what did you do, Richard?" Pandora bent down towards the boy, looking at him carefully.

Then, they all heard a voice, from that room, a deep, echoing voice. "Hiu. Hiu Kos Fin Gein. Zu Mindok Him Sos Nol Fin Vol Grohiik…"

This certainly shocked the scientists. "I don't believe it. It actually attempted communication without anyone being inside…Shane, go and check on the camera feed! On both 64 and 76! I hope to god this hasn't stirred the latter up!"

Pandora turned to them for a moment. "Go and check on everything, make sure we're ready for another breach if 76 starts moving."

The scientists were soon gone, leaving Khamsin, Pandora and Richard alone, who began to stand up now, shaking badly on his feet. "Je-jesus fuck. What, what in gods name do you have down here!?"

"We have things down here, that can't be allowed to be seen up above Richard. Evil that can't be allowed to leave. Subject 64 is one of them."

Richard finally clicked on it's number. "6...64? You have 64 of these abominations?!"

Pandora shook her head, and stated, in a matter-of-fact way "We have currently have 210. Quite a few are small, minor things that would effect the world in surprising ways. Technology, items of power…Others…are like 64."

"So, so what's the first subject you got? Subject 0?"

"We started with 1 actually. And I think it would be more amusing for you to see it then actually explain it. Come with me, we'll go there before heading back to your destination." With that, Pandora headed back towards the lift they had used before. The boy and Khamsin soon followed, and the moment they got in, Pandora seemed to press the last button on the panel, the seemingly lowest floor level.

"So, I take it there is a reason, it's placed all the way down in the depths?" Richard asked.

Khamsin folded his arms, leaning on the side of the lift. "It's a powerful weapon boy. It would trigger rebellions, terrorism and possibly war across the globe if it got out. And hopefully you know all too well that if another major war, world war, occurred on Earth, it's bound to include nuclear weapons…and that'll be the end game for all of us."

"…Is he serious?" Richard turned to Pandora, who just nodded in response.

Soon, the lift opened up, showing a small, metal room, with almost nothing in it, save a ceiling light hanging overhead a wooden pedestal, that was about a meter tall, with a small, see-through glass box on top, that seemed to be protecting…two pieces of paper. A brown, worn, slightly ripped down one side, page. And another, a fragment of…a parchment? Richard wasn't sure, but it looked far, far older in comparison to the little page next to it.

Pandora motioned at Richard to go first. "Focus only on the parchment, and try and read it, don't look at the page until I say so."

Richard slowly walked over to the pedestal, looking at the fragment of parchment in wonder as he got close, his eyes adjusting to the light. There was old, worn down words written on it, but he couldn't make them out.

He head Pandora walk over, and soon saw her close beside him. "Do you know what language it is?"

"Nope. I'm guessing…Klingon?"

"Hellenistic Greek."

"Close enough, right?"

"According to our tests, this dates back as been written along with the final known writings of 'John the Apostle' towards a soon-to-be formed religious book. It was added to the first English copy, in the 1380's, by a man named John Wycliffe, untranslated at first. It would be one of his followers, John Purvey, that sees these words, and quickly removed them once he finished the translation, the page next to this, noticing his master did not bother to warn him of what it said. He was also the one that hunted down and found the first parchment, tearing this out of it. You may now look at the page."

Richard looked over, noticing the words were drawn down in an old English style, but…clearly written in almost modern English. After he finished, all he managed to say was "…What?"

On the torn page, are the words 'This wonderful work of fabulous fiction that I have been handing out in pieces throughout the years has been written by me, Q. I know it has been nearly two thousand years to finish, but I hope it was worth the wait, especially to my adoring fans who seem to have made a religion from it! I'll miss you all!'

Richard looked at Pandora. "….is this…from…"

"The Bible. Yes."

Richard wanted to laugh. He really wanted to, but he also realized that if this is well and truly real, and if it is dated correctly, then one of the more major religions in the world would be a laughing stock. They would try and dismiss it, others would test and confirm it, they would look down on those that followed the book…and then things would get violent. "I, take it you most likely know the number of people that follow the Christian Religio-"

"-2.3 billion at an estimate. Now you know why it's better this is never shown out there, and was given to us to store away the moment this place was founded. Hence, why it is Subject 1. If anyone dared to try and take the papers…well, that's why we have the glass box and the isolated level. The moment that box is moved, the lift automatically heads back up to the higher levels, and several steel plates slide into place within the lift shaft, blocking all access until I give permission for people to head down there and interrogate, and possibly terminate, the person trying to move them." Pandora headed back to the lift, turning and looking at Richard once she got inside.

Richard went over and joined her, and soon, they were off again, back upwards. "…Because it might cause the end of the world."

"Exactly." She answered.

"The authors name. Q…have you ever found who that was? His or hers full name?"

Pandora shook her head. "The letter isn't enough for any leads. Whatever it was, it lasted for all those years to formulate the Bible. A possible supernatural being…or one that's from the other Universes."

Richard raised his eyebrow at her. "Excuse me?"

"I think you heard me quite clearly Richard."

"You, KNOW, there are other Universes? Actual, proof?…Can it be shown to me?"

Pandora smirked at him. "In actual fact, that's why you're here, Richard Chandos. You have been brought here, because others from one of those Universes, want you."

They had returned to the hallway where Richard had that fright from one of the Subjects, and headed through several winding corridors, until they had arrived at where he was needed.

It was much like the rooms higher up, just as large even. But it had much less computers, only a few, a few desks, guards and scientists, including Medina, who was close to a certain, major object that stood out above everything else.

It was a Stargate. There was little doubt in Richard's mind. It lacked the symbols, but it was as large, it had a ramp leading up to it, several dozen wires connecting it to computers nearby, and a white like panel, wide enough and long enough just for a few human beings to stand on, at the front of the ramp, with four black cables, two going from it to the gate, the other two to computers nearby.

Richard was still in a state of shock from before, when Pandora said about others from another Universe wanting him, just idly walking through the corridors in stunned silence, trying to get the information registered into his mind, and now seeing this has made it more shockingly possible. "This, This can't be…Pandora, is this, a, a gate?"

She had left his side, walking over close to the ramp, before turning towards him. "Indeed it is. A gateway to another Multiverse Richard. One with twenty Universes. One of them requires you."

"You got nominated by Keaton Al'keriff and Albert Wily boy." Khamsin told him.

Richard was added it up. "Keaton. As in, two eye colours, general…Keaton? And…mad scientist, enemy of Rock, Wily?"

Pandora looked over to a group of scientists, who inputting something on some of the computers near the gateway, before she turned her focus back to Richard, folding her arms. "I would prefer mad genius, for Wily. All you need to do is stand on that panel right there." motioning at the panel near the ramp "And the portal will open."

"Why? Why would it open?" Richard questioned, still adjusting to these…strange events. He walked over to the panel without thinking about it, stepping on it, and waiting.

"Because of what you are, what Wily believes you are. A Game Master."

Richards eyes went wide, looking right at Pandora. As he did, a dark, crackling violet energy begun to surge from him, as the panel lit up beneath him, the dark energy flowing through the all the black cables, but he failed to notice, as his brain begun heading, to a conclusion. He chuckled, nervously. "I'm sorry? Is, is this a joke? A 'Game Master'? What kind of stupid title is that? I mean, I'm certainly no gaming lord or even in any top lists of gamers, what kind of idiot would think that I'm…"

He then noticed the panel, and the energy, looking from himself, to the gateway, as a swirling violet coloured vortex had momentarily formed in the middle of it, before, forming in the center of the gateway, was a blue, shimmering portal, brightening up the entire room, the violet vortex having now vanished. "...Wait, a sudden energy power I never knew I had that can open portals, a shitty sounding title, Albert Wily, Keaton Al'keriff. AH! I finally got it! A lucid dream! One quick pinch on the skin and…" He was pinching his skin, lightly at first, then harder, and harder, squeezing as hard as possible. "annnnd it's not working."

Khamsin was smirking, while Pandora sighed. "It's no dream, Richard Chandos."

"Hang on hang on. Hey, hey excuse me? Medina?" Richard was waving over at the woman, who looked at him. "Hey, can you come here?"

Medina walked over, looking baffled. "Are you okay Mister Chandos?"

"Slap me. Slap me across the face as hard as you possibly can, while I think of something, if it works, it'll prove you're all bloody fake, and I haven't woken up for work yet."

Medina looked over to Pandora, concerned about hitting Richard, but Pandora nodded to allow it, whilst looking like as if she knew him being in denial would come, frowning a little. The woman focused back on Richard, raising her arm to her side. "Are you sure about this? Say when."

"…nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnNOW!"

Whack.

Richard, didn't know what to expect from that. One part of his mind was screaming at him for being a moron, for thinking this shit wasn't real, the other part was wondering why he didn't magically teleport backwards to dodge, as he wanted to happen to prove it was a dream.

His body meanwhile, was busy informing him that the left side of his face just received one heck of a red mark from a rather nice looking chick. He was quickly rubbing the side of his face, stepping off the panel, and making a "aahhhhh." sound.

"I guess that didn't go the way you were thinking Richard?" Pandora asked. Richard was sure that was laced with dead sarcasm.

"definitely, not, what I thought…so, certainly isn't a dream then." Richards mind on the pain quickly past, as a new voice spoke up.

"I think some hard evidence is required for you to understand."

It had seemingly came from the opened portal, before a figure stepped out from the liquid appearance of the said portal. Richard practically knew him, he knew his look, his white lab coat, his hair style with the bald patch in the middle…what baffled him was the seemingly extra parts, they were from, well, a different version of the man. his walking stick with the skull on, and the black monocle over his left eye. But regardless, it was still him. It was still Dr Albert Wily.

Pandora looked over and sounded surprised at his arrival. "Dr Wily? Why have you come over? We haven't completed all the tests on the portal and what it can do-"

"After seeing the last boy come over quite safely, it's fine to assume humans are unaffected by the trip between Universes. I did my own tests on the lad before putting him away, no ill effects noticed." With that, Wily focused on Richard, as he walked down the ramp. "So, am I good enough proof to you, that the situation you're in, is real enough?"

Richard didn't answered, he noticed Medina had moved aside, and he was now just staring at the old man, for what seemed like ages, before finally saying. "I, I…I need a coffee. A strong one, and something to eat. Now."

* * *

'Wily, please stop staring from across the table.'

'Okay Richard. Fact, you are currently in a secret base, where it can connect to a Universe, possibly Multiverse of video games and more. Wily is proof. Fact, this base contains nightmares and things that can end the bloody world if they got out, and means this is most likely a one way ticket, as they wouldn't want you to leave with it's location, to the point they burnt your mobile and PSP. Fact, you are also the one who can open the gateway to this other Universe, by a power that is, assumedly, connected to 'Game Masters'. Fact, Medina, Pandora and Khamsin are all standing close by, chatting to themselves, while Wily keeps watching you intensely.'

'…Fact, this coffee has twelve sugars in, and yet I feel it isn't enough. They couldn't get me some frosted flakes or lucky charms, the cheap assholes. The bacon in this sandwich tastes underdone. I like it crispy. And it's goddamn wholemeal bread…This is hell.'

They were in one of the few cafeterias in the base. It was completely empty bar these five figures. Richard was sitting at a metal table, on a metal chair, while Dr Wily sat opposite of him, his hands on his chin, staring at Richard with his one seemingly visible eye, as if judging him. Pandora was several feet away, with Khamsin and Medina, and Richard could hear them talk about the subjects here. Pandora was mostly saying about 64, how it hasn't changed beyond that one off communication, yet still, it reacted to Richards presence.

Richard was starting to eat the other half of his plain bacon sandwich, chewing it slowly, and looking up to the ceiling lights or to the other parts of the cafeteria, trying to not focus on Wily.

Wily had been eerily silent for the entire time Richard got his food and drink, and was consuming them. That was, until Richard finished the other half of his sandwich, and gave a small sigh, obviously still thinking about this, and was about to go back to drinking his coffee. "So, Richard, how do you feel now?"

Richard finally looked at Wily, sipping his coffee, then sitting back a little. "It's, still hard to grasp that you're real. That you're quite possibly the same genius who I used to beat over and over in video games. Who just seemed incompetent on several occasions or used ideas that were bound to back fire, and yet on other occasions showed his brilliance…only to trip up with something stupid a little later."

Dr Wily wasn't sure how to take this. "Believe me, whatever happened in your, video games, is not who I am."

Richard raised his eyebrow, leaning forward, putting both his arms on the table. "Oh? You're not are you? Hmm, I don't really believe it. Let's test it, okay? Theory this for me, doc. You are on a world, where it is mostly controlled by a major network, internet, so to speak. You control a criminal organization. The most opposition you'll ever really get is from said net, as people use digital characters across the net, noticeably, there is an elite group who are essentially kids, that are known to stop such organizations like yours, by using said network and digital characters. They are the highest threat besides the military, because they adapt the fastest to situations on the network. Your goal is world domination. How will you do it?"

The lad had to be honest, asking something like this to Doctor frikken Wily was not something he expected ever to do, but, there the old man was, thinking it over, laying the pieces out in his mind no doubt, then bringing them together. "Humph, easy. I would first make sure my minions had digital characters themselves, then send them to first cause chaos near these, elite brats to test their mettle, all the while I would send viruses to take over the networks of the military, transport and-"

"We're done here." Richard folded his arms, leaning back on the chair.

The old scientist was rather surprised with this reaction. "Excuse me?"

"You just suggested to get their attention, then just focus on everything else, using the internet. They'll know it's you, and they'll no doubt defeat your minions and viruses. Someone will track it all back to your secret base, which, knowing you, you'll have, they'll come, and that'll be that. You lose. You should've focused your goal, and knew better then to use the very thing they know very well of."

"Bah, but they are just brats-"

"One thing I've learnt from the games is never underestimate someone, even 11 year old idiots. They'll have the help, and the support, and your minions would probably spill the beans on crucial things because they'll think just like that, that it's just 11 year olds."

"Then, what would you suggest then? What do you think that I could do that would turn it into my favour, if you think you can do better."

Richard shrugged. "I dunno. Why don't you treat them like adults? Use the attention tactic, but instead of going elsewhere afterwards, keep on them, focus on them, lure them with breadcrumbs to your base, create a trap, spread false information to make sure it seem like you have a major evil goal to make them think you're actually not focusing on them, then instead of using, say, a giant evil virus that they'll have to fight in the network when they reach you…shoot them. You know they're the most lethal threat. End them, incinerate the bodies, delete or defragment their digital characters for your use if you want, making sure they can't rebel first before use, then go about your world domination business. That way people can't say you killed children, no bodies no proof, and taking over will be a lot more simple. You keep a, decent, reputation, and win the game."

"Why would my reputation matter?"

Richard chuckled. "You serious? Taking over the world is one step. If you don't want to keep having to wipe out towns and populations just to keep a grip on things, then you need to avoid negative reputation. Killing kids is a major no no. and when you take over, be firm, but not insane. Don't try the 'make them complete and utter slaves by taking their money, livelihoods and property for my own' route, it'll only end with rebellions and someone who's willing to fight the odds. Take control, but don't purge the higher ups, persuade who you can over, then quietly remove those who just won't yield over time, those who show signs of breaking, keep tempting them, keep using money, fear or power to lure them in."

"It will take longer."

"It'll guarantee supporters to your cause and loyalty from those you have taken over."

Wily was thinking about it, and Richard noticed a small evil smile form from his lips. "You know, I think you'll be quite a useful ally in the grand scheme of things. I certainly could use a person like you. I tried for a Game Master before, but he was…determined, to leave my service. He even managed to escape with one of my captives. A princess."

"Wow, I hope you didn't just so happen to put this Game Master in the same room as the princess who got out too, did you?"

Dr Wily, looked surprised, in a way that said 'How did you know that?'

Richard rubbed his eyes with his hand. "Are you, serious, old man? Did you at least, check to see what the Game Master had on him before he got chucked in that cell to avoid any incident?"

Wily was just silent.

"Are you fucking serious? Look, who was this, Game Master who outwitted you by your own, forgetfulness."

Albert didn't like the insulting manner Richard was having towards him, but knew so far, it stood to good reason. "His name was Chad Malyan."

Richard was stunned, his eyes widened for a moment. "…He came from, my, Universe?"

Wily nodded.

"Well, this is certainly gotten interesting. So Chad escapes, and to replace him, you chose me."

"Fate, chose you Richard. And you can come and see what it has in store for you, if you are ready."

Richard grabbed his coffee, and with it being cooler, drank it down, before putting the cup down, and standing up. "You know. I still think this is still a little insane, a little strange, but, it's obvious this is one ride I need to stay on. Chad's gone with it, and if he has, then I'm pretty sure I can take whatever is dished out….it isn't a colourful realm with smiley faces and colourful rainbows and all that, right?"

"No it isn't."

"Oh thank god. Alright, let's do it."

With that, he, Wily, Khamsin, Medina and Pandora departed the cafeteria, heading back to the lift, in order to return to the gateway, as they stepped in, Richard decided to ask something. "So, besides us old man, who else is coming over to the other Universe?"

"Khamsin. Keaton Al'keriff wishes for him to join his employ once again."

"Once again, his from that Universe?" Richard was motioning at Khamsin.

The military solider shook his head. "Nope. Keaton is from ours. I served under him before, and I can't wait to do so again."

The lift doors opened, and back down that certain hallway they go again. "Keaton is from ours. Huh, What are the odds that I name a character that had two different colour eyes the same name…least strangest thing really compared to everything going on right now." Richard then looked at Medina. "So, did they burn all my stuff?"

Medina nodded. "Pretty much right after they got the numbers off your phone. Didn't need anything else."

He sighed. "Great, now how am I suppose to look after gramps here?"

Wily was a bit confused at that. "Look after…?"

Pandora explained. "He was a healthcare assistant in an elderly home, Dr Wily."

"…Strange profession to take up for who you are, Richard."

Richard shrugged. "How am I suppose to know what I am? I just liked taking care of folks and I got money, a sense of fulfilment and enjoyment out of it. I didn't exactly think 'Hm, maybe today I'll be a Game Master and see another Universe where wacko awesome Wily resides and where my buddy Chad ran off to!', pfft, knowing my luck that's where Blue boy went too. He was seemingly gone before Chad."

Richard then felt a cold, foreboding feeling trickle down his spine, as if something was suddenly staring at him. He stopped, looking around, and shivered a little. "What the?"

"Mister Chandos, what is it?" Medina asked.

Then he heard it, a very, very faint screaming sound. It was almost like a whisper…a very, very bad and worrying whisper. "Can, can you hear that? It sounds like someone in agony…"

Pandora shook her head after listening for several moments. "Nothing in these corridors. Maybe you're hearing something back in that hallway." She then heard a beeping sound, coming from a small walkie-talkie like device that was attached to her waist. She grabbed it and answered. "Yes?"

The male voice on it sounded terrified. "Subject 76 has entered it's agitated state Pandora! I repeat! Subject 76 has entered it's agitated state! Request emergency lockdown!"

"What happened? Has somebody entered subject 64's room?"

"No one has entered there ma'am! It had shown movement 20 seconds ago, then went back into it's resting state, that's when subject 76 became active!"

"20 seconds?" Pandora looked back. "But the only people to have passed so soon is…" Her normal calm demeanour broke. "…Oh no." Her quickly looked at the others. "We need to hurry to the gateway! You need to leave!" She was looking right at Richard when she said that.

"Huh, me?"

"Move it! Now!" She was pretty much making them move in a quicker pace, getting back on the walkie talkie. "Prepare for complete site lockdown! Once I and the others have entered the gateway section, trigger the lockdown! Inform all guards to be on maximum alert, if 76 is seen, shoot on sight, I repeat, shoot on sight! It can't be allowed to reach its target!"

"Wait wait wait am I the target?!" Richard looked back at her.

"Yes! Now keep moving, we're almost there!" Pandora ordered.

Her walkie talkie went off again. "Pandora, Prometheus is on his way to meet you at the gateway! And Subject 76 is…is changing!"

"Changing how!?"

"Its pale skin is changing in a dark brown and seemingly turning into a carapace! Its arms and hands are morphing, they're bulking up, as well as the legs! Its face…oh god, its face! Wait something, make it two, things have just grown out of its back! Two massive claws! I think it's about to attack! Estimate 10 seconds!"

They had arrived at the gateway room, and right away, as they got there, massive steel plates suddenly covered the doors leading into here, and over the speaker system in this place, a female voice confirmed why this was happening. "Lockdown has been engaged across the entire site! 76 is active! Avoid levels 8 to 10! Possible target is in level 8 gateway section! 76 has just left containment on level 10!"

"Hey you! Come on! It's time to leave!" It was a new voice to Richard, one that was close to the computers near the gateway. It was a guy, with red eyes and cyan coloured hair, wearing this strange metal armor that had this odd, skull shape design to it, and was carrying some sort of steel scythe, with the blade part being made of pure green energy.

Richard looked at him carefully. He was sure his seen the figure before. From another game series…Megaman ZX? With that in mind, something clicked. Pandora…Prometheus. "Wait…wait wait wait! Are you guys game characters as well!?"

"No time! Get on that panel!" Pandora ordered him, which he did so quickly, stepping on it and waiting. The dread feeling he was having was getting worse the more he stayed here. Something about this '76' was freaking him the fuck out.

The speakers on the walls were active again. "76 has reached level 8! Lift has been halted due to heavy damage!"

"It's already here?" Medina said, frightened of what was coming now. Pandora quickly told her to keep well away from them, before she focused on Richard, as the portal finally appeared.

"GO!" she yelled out, before looking to the few scientists brave enough to remain stationed at the computers. "The second the boy enters, shut it off! We can't let Subject 76 leave!"

Wily and Khamsin were ahead, as quickly as they could, heading up to the portal and passing through. Richard went after them, but before he stepped into the portal, he stopped himself, staring at the shimmering liquid.

Was he seriously about to see a new Universe? Just by stepping through? Why? Why leave what he knows as the normal? Leave his mom, pets, his job…Lucy and Ariel?

A horrific sound of metal being ripped apart reached his ears, as he sharply turned to see where it came from.

A creature, at least nearly 9 feet tall had made a hole in the steel plating. It look liked it had rock solid dark brown scales all over it's body. It's hands and feet were claws, and two massive singular ivory claws were protruding out of it's back, covering in blood coloured veins. It's face, was like that of a Zerg from Starcraft, it's dark purple eyes glowing, it's jaw, jagged teeth covered mandibles opening as it screeched out in fury, saliva dripping to the floor, as it focused entirely on Richard.

That was enough of a reason to fucking run again. He entered just as he heard Pandora scream out "SHOOT IT!"

* * *

It was…beautiful.

The lights, the numerous colours and lights that flashed by, the feeling of being lifted and transported along, the seemingly infinite stars…

For a few moments he felt like as if some sort of invisible barrier tried to stop him, but he easily passed it with no problems, as he continued on this journey, towards a blue light at the end. He had to wonder if he was actually dead. This was the journey to the afterlife.

The sudden metal floor on his feet, his eyesight blurred and feeling unbalanced as he arrived on the other end, before stumbling and hitting the floor, looking towards the blurry portal as it shut off right after, said otherwise.

A male voice said, over, some system. "Portal was shut down on the other end. Resuming standard operations until contact with Pandora's Box can be established again."

Richard lowered his head, looking at the ground…he felt sick. "Oh, this, this isn't good…"

"I'm surprised it effected you the most boy. Me and the doc were a-ok."

Khamsin.

Richard couldn't move his head, his whole body felt weakened, the blurry effect in his vision wasn't going away. "Piss off, 'murrican. This really isn't good. Gonna need some, medical help I think…"

He heard Dr Wily then. "Get Richard to the medical bay. Make sure his fine. He's a valuable person to me."

Richard's vision was fading to black. "Oh, oh crap, Wily, Wily? Can't, focus…"

The final words he heard, before he fell unconscious, was from the doc. "He's our hope for a new era. He is our Game Master. The one who will follow the path we forge for him."

* * *

Notes:

1. This will all be related to Gamemaster, and Universe 8. This Richards role will be expanded there.

2. Ehhhh, not much else to say, besides now the major segment of the Multiverse backstory is done. Now onto the segment that speaks of the Terran Empire, a force in Universe 20...and something called the Lonesome Road.


	8. Terran Empire

_Man and Machine, they were made to lead the way to victory for Azrael…and now they may lead elsewhere…_

* * *

A deep, dark, male voice could be heard. "Universe, 20..."

"Different from the other 19, it carried the flags of three forces, all three brought into existence by one race, and one race only…man."

Slowly, fading into view, hanging on a steel wall, were three damaged flags, one was hung just above the other two.

One of them, it's background black, bore a golden blade, stabbing downwards through a golden world which looked like one of the many earths….the Terran Empire.

Another, had a same, black background to it, and even a blade, but this sword was silver, pointing upwards, and around the blade, were three silver cogs of a machine, and coming from the hilt of the sword, were two silver wings. This was the Brotherhood of Steel.

Then there was the flag above these two. The same black background as the others, but this one, had a set of stars, 12 of them, all white, formed up in a circle, surrounding an 'E' which was a dark grey colour.

This, was the Enclave.

The voice was heard again. "The Terran Empire. A true look into the blacker side of humanity. Solely built for war, they've conquered and destroyed for thousands of years, always looking for an enemy, a land to liberate and take. I've begun to wonder what will happen to their road, once there is no one but themselves left to fight."

"The Brotherhood of Steel. Formed from those that want their Universe to change direction, the Terran Empire, to change. They rise up to fight their brothers and sisters, to 'end their warpath.'. The Lady of Luck, has not been kind to them so far, as they are scattered, divided, unable to make any real move against the Empire. Once united together, with outside help though….their path will form."

"The Enclave. Formed from the forges of the Terran Empire, it is but a shadow government, creating the technology and weapons for the Empire. Over time, it has grown with that which it has been feeding on, and sooner or later, it's ash and fire covered road, will reveal itself to all those around it."

"They all came to be thanks to 'god'. he wished for a force to fight his enemy, and created this. Very little remains, of other races in this Universe. Humanity holds dominance, and see themselves as the perfect beings, better then angels and deities….better then Gods."

"A belief that their actual God has not stopped them from seeing themselves as. A mistake, in my eyes."

Slowly, the lighting faded on both the Enclave flag and the Brotherhood of Steel flag, leaving only the Terran Empire one lit.

"This one, of the three, came first. The major founder of them all. Formed over 1500 years ago, on a single planet called Earth X. it had taken over that whole world, and had launched satellites and probes into space, to see if there was other signs of life out there, in the vast, so called emptiness."

Appearing, was an image of Planet Earth, stars glittering around it, it's single moon orbiting.

"Chozo, answered the call. A race of bird like beings that had, unlike other universes, thrived greatly here, and had made peace with several other groups of humans. They thought this would be no different. Send an envoy, a peace offering group, welcome this men into the fold."

"It was a mistake."

The image slowly turns blood red, with the Planet Earth seemingly turning a dark brown.

"The peace envoy was killed, slain by those of the planet. Their ship, invaded and striped of all parts. Warp technology, energy weapons, shields, all of it suddenly became possible and available to these people. It took them 20 years, but soon enough, above their world, was several warships, bearing their flag proudly."

"And their first mission, was to give a response to the Chozo, for all the 'help' they had given."

The Flag on the steel wall reappeared now, and next to it, was a brown, tattered flag, with a blue circle, with a star in the center of it, in the middle of the flag.

"The Clipped Wings war, as it was named, begun. The Chozo were first happy to see the warships, believing it was still an intent for peace after such a long, quiet silence. It was only after the bombing of three of their worlds, and the destruction of over 70 large ships, that they quickly noticed it was no peace offering."

"Soon the battles in space began, and at first, the Terran Empire was heavily outmatched by the Chozo, and could not advance against the race, but the fall of this mighty bird culture, was from within, as the war sparked a rebellion. The word of a man made force fighting the Chozo had quickly got across the Universe, and those of man, that had bowed to the Chozo, saw this as a golden opportunity to overthrow and enslave the Chozo race."

Slowly, the brown flag began to burn.

"The Chozo had been a race of peace. A crippling fault. their military strength was small, and just enough to focus in a few areas in this rising rebellion across their civilization, and against the Terran Empire. Their military might spread thin by all this uprising, the Terran Empire managed to begin the push again, with the help of the people that once obeyed and trusted the Chozo."

"Worlds broke, under all this. The Chozo lost their footing on the worlds they once had, their developing communities, crushed, technology, stolen and torn apart into weapons of war, their ships of peace, reformed and mauled, into warships of mankind."

The flag was fully ablaze now, ash fragments, glowing orange on their edges, came off, out of the fire.

"The war lasted for 46 years. This was not because of some comeback, that the Chozo had done, or a change of ideals and creating weapons to fight back against these humans. No, this was because humanity, chased the Chozo, hunted each and every one of them down, to utter extinction. No matter what world the Chozo hid on, no matter where they went, or how they tried to escape, humanity wanted them gone. The Terran Empire had declared the Chozo as monsters, that required no more then total wipeout. The Chozo were defeated in 10 years, the main part of the war ended. They were driven to extinction within the remaining 36 years."

The flag was gone, with only bits of ash remaining. The lights dimmed where it was, leaving only the Terran Empire flag lit once more.

"With this, the Terran Empire and it's rebellion allies had taken all of the worlds that the Chozo had, and with the acceptance of all the humans, they became the leaders, their flag marked humanity. To see the flag is to know mankind was coming. It was Here the Terran Empire begun their year chart. Known as 'T.E'. 1 T.E…the start of the Empire. "

"Silence followed. Worlds that belong to alien races, such as Mobians, Protoss, Zerg, all heard nothing from within the Empire. They had kept their guard up, fearing that man would come to their worlds next, destroy them as well. But the empire had appeared to go silent. Most of the races presumed that they were having civil disputes, that they were too busy fighting between themselves."

"They, were very wrong on presuming this."

"For over 200 years, mankind had rebuilt the damaged worlds, created factories, space stations, their military force expanding, growing alarmingly as time passed. There was no issues in their chain of command, the command of the empire. They understood what they wanted, what their goal was."

"The leader of the Terran Empire, at the end of the Clipped Wing War, named James Morrison, told the people of what God wanted, what Azrael wanted now, that the Chozo were gone…"

A new picture appeared, old and decayed looking, all brown, showing the back of a man dressed in robes, holding a steel short sword, lifting it high up towards the cloudy sky, as he stood on a balcony of some sort. Beyond him, in the sky were several fighter ships, all had flown overhead, emitting smoke behind them. They were in an X shape, from what the picture could show.

"All races that are not human, must either be enslaved to serve mankind, or be killed like the birds."

Another picture showed what was beyond the balcony, down below. A massive army, of men, carrying machine guns and laser rifles, wearing black steel armor over their torsos and legs, leaving their arms and heads bare, with heavy black boots on, their weapons raised up in response to the man, and from their expressions, they were cheering. All of them, on the chest of their armor, had the Terran Empire logo embedded.

"These men and women of the Empire believed in Azrael greatly, his temples were on every world they had come from, who the Chozo also worshipped. They all understood and believed the great leader, praying and thanking Azrael for allowing them to see that the race they had followed before were weak, and that they were strong, and this was now their birthright."

"Everything will belong to man. Everything will obey them. By command of Azrael."

Now it was within a steel factory. Once again the image showed age. Within this factory, the smelting devices were seen in several locations, used by women wearing simple overalls, using shovels to feed the smelters, and further down, other women could be seen forging armor, using hammers and tongs, smoke, covering the ceiling.

"With the Chozo Technology, they made the forges, the tools, to make their metal, their weapons…their plans to conquer."

"The men were to prepare for war, the women to stay at home, to work in the factories, and give birth to more men and women."

"218 T.E. The first target was the closest to the border of the empire. The Mobians."

The next old image showed, from above, a humanoid fox, wearing shirt and jeans, with sneakers, on a grassy field, staring up in complete horror. The place he was at, covered over by a shadow.

"It was claimed and written, by one Mobian of that time, his words added into the history of the Terran Empire, that on the world of Mobius, the ground was covered in a blanket of shadow and darkness, as in the sky above, a fleet of warships entered the atmosphere, thousands of small fighters flew from them, like a swarm of locusts, down to the cities and villages of the world…"

Now was shown, a whole group of Mobians, all kinds, from rabbits to hedgehogs, all on their knees, hands behind their heads, as Terran troopers were all around them, one of looking like he was using a handheld device to contact someone, while the others aimed their rifles at the captured beings.

"The mobians could not fight back. Their space stations were quickly overrun and taken over, their small fleet of battleships, annihilated within the first few days, and many of their major cities, were levelled in the initial invasion. Their capital world surrendered, and their subjective worlds, gave in to the Empire once the message was given out of their homeworld's defeat."

It went to the next image, showing the Protoss race, most notably, the zealots of it, known for their energy blades connected to their armour's wrist, being pinned down, and bitten into, by the humanoid type of Zerg, a swarm of them mauling the Protoss down, and behind them in the distance, were Terran men, just starting to charge forward, by the looks of it.

"223 T.E. The next target, the Zerg, on the worlds they were on, were enslaved with little to no effort. They had little in the way of technology, and their numbers proved to be nothing, compared to the Empire and it's brutal tactics and disregard for losses."

"The Zerg soon proved to be a valuable tool. Their primal aggressions and genetic abilities showed promise on the battlefront. With much scientific development, they managed to manipulate the mind control ability of an Overmind, killing off the actual Overminds of the Zergs, and using their artificial radio sent signals to control the Zerg. They were soon used for raids on military bases, a first wave before the Empire deployed it's troops to clean up what the Zerg left."

"225 T.E. The Protoss were the ones who put up a fight, along with the race known as the Legus, giant humans, so it's claimed. They were no more then double the size of an average human, but were still something to be concerned about. Protoss technology proved to be a match to the Terran Empire, and the Legus helped in holding off ground invasions, thanks to their high durability and toughened skin, they could withstand plenty of bullets."

"Soon, other races joined the Protoss in holding back the Terran Empire, the Na'vi, along with the species that lived on their world, Dragenus, also known to some, as simply 'space dragons', joined in, along with the Black Arms. But this was all they could do. Hold back the Empire."

"Over the many years that followed in this bloody stalemate, dozens of other species joined the war, helping the Protoss and each other as their resources begun to suffer and diminish. The Outer Rim unity was born, to combat the monster that was the Terran Empire, But still they remained at a stalemate. Even the race called the Drakon Empire helping them, they could not drive away the Terran Empire."

"What eventually defeated this unity of races was their own needs and ideas. They begun to horde their resources as the war dragged on, refusing to share, starving others of what they need to keep up the fight. The fighters of the frontlines, the Drakon Empire, Black Arms, the Legus, the Protoss and their kin, the Dark Protoss, soon begun to lose their ground in the war, and had little choice but to stop helping out in many of the battles in order to help their own worlds. The Terran Empire begun to break through, taking out species and their worlds alike."

Now it showed just a massive, once beautiful forest, burning. Fire engulfing it everywhere.

"The first to fall was the Na'Vi, and their world of Pandora, burnt into a charred, scarred planet. The other species on that world, Dragenus, Surrendered with what little numbers of them remained."

A world turned black, it's clouds twisted and blasted away, with nothing visible on it but a single, bright fiery dome, in it's northern hemisphere, at least eclipsing an 8th of the planet's surface.

"The Drakon Empire next were destroyed. Unable to hold back the Terran Empire any longer, as the battles raged on, a single Warship, carrying a over a hundred energy and plasma bombs, flew past their space defences, making a beeline for their home, their only home planet, and dived into the atmosphere, smashing into the ground of the planet, emitting an explosion which was as powerful as 600 nuclear bombs, burning most of the world in a harsh wave of heat and energy, killing almost everything. The crew of the ship, over two thousand, knew of their mission, but cared little of their fate…"

Bodies of Protoss, the blue skinned beings, Na'Vi, a few bodies of the giant humans, riddled with holes, and a dozen or so of Ridley's species, the space dragons or Dragenus, could be seen in a wasteland.

"One by One, the unity was picked apart, as time went by. Most of the species who stood against the Empire, ceased to exist. Their worlds either taken over, or burnt into a lifeless state."

"As for the Protoss, who stirred those other lifeforms into action against the Empire, folded, once their kin, the Dark Protoss, were killed off. They knew it was all hopeless at that point, and gave in without any conditions. All they wanted, was to survive. The Terran Empire accepted their surrender, afterall, it meant more slaves for the factories and people to use."

"278 T.E. It had been a grand victory for the Empire. Celebrations appeared on each world, and men who fought in the wars, drank and ate, using up all the rations that the military had stored up, and enjoyed their women for over a week, a seemingly endless fun…untill the Empire noticed, it, was now in a sorry state within."

It showed now, a tatted flag of the Terran Empire, flapping in the wind as the picture was taken, in the middle of nowhere, black clouds looming over it.

"War is something that requires funding. That requires food, water, minerals and energy to continue. That needed people to die for it. Now it was over, they saw that their worlds were in shambles. Their rapid extraction of materials on many worlds damaged them, most of their population actually lived in poverty, and most worlds had little to no food sources remaining."

"The slow, agonising regrowth era began. They had to bring back many of the species of cattle and animals, which were on the verge of total extinction, to feed their people, organize water supplies, as over 100 worlds suffered now, from polluted and dangerous, undrinkable water, which would take many years to restore."

"Charred, scarred worlds from the war were used as new ore and material resources. Even through the ground was scorched in fire, and much of the plant life and animal life on all those planets were gone, under the planet's crust, it still held much to extract."

A city, with new buildings and apartments, neat looking roads, clean paths, people walking around, was the next picture. The land around the city as shown seemed to be mostly barren, but, there was signs of growth, as grass was seen in spots, and people trying to make farmable land out of the damaged world.

"Homes were remade and improved for all humans, to help make their living standards much higher. Thanks to it, slaves that were brought by these men and women, had basements or small rooms to live in, prolonging their expected lifespan…prolonging their torture, as they were soon used to farm and work at the drilling and factory sites, to cut the loss of human life in those dangerous conditions."

"It was recorded that during this time, there was finally, rebellions and civil wars within the Terran Empire. All this did, was slow down the regrowth, as people grew angry and stressed at how long it was taking, that they needed their water, they needed their food, they needed their worlds back in a usable condition."

A clash between two sides, both human, both carrying the flag of the empire, gunning each other, and some getting close enough, to use knives, stabbing and gutting with no care, as could be seen in their faces as they did so.

"Leadership of the Terran Empire, was filled during this time, with many murders of emperors, of leaders and commanders, backstabbed, slain, by their lower staff or people who wanted power to control the regrowth project. Survival of the strongest, became the rule."

"In 1145 T.E, with it's worlds flourishing and revived, Civil wars finally becoming less and less of a problem, it's force trained, improved and upgraded, it made contact with the Galactic Republic."

Now the pictures were in colour. It showed a meeting room on a ship. A metal table between one man dressed in black uniform, wearing a black, gold lined military hat, with the symbol of the empire on the front of it. Behind him, were two guards, both wearing black, huge, bulky power armour, carrying laser rifles, there helmets were shaped like that of a demon, with yellow visor segments over the eyes, and where their mouths are, an air purifying mask. On the other side of the table, was several officers, male and female humans, all in orange and reddish uniforms, wearing the same kind of hat, just black on it's tip, orange on the top half, and red around the bottom, all wearing the symbol of the Galactic Republic on their chests…looking uneasy.

"It wasn't the best peace talks that they had. The Galactic Republic noticed the slavery, although not as harsh as it were hundreds of years ago, of the different races bar humans, and how humanity saw itself higher as them, and tried to speak to the Terran Empire about rights and how they should change their beliefs on these other beings."

"The Terran Empire responded with constructing armed space stations on the border between their part of the Universe and the Galactic Republic, warning the republic to keep out, unless they want a war."

A Picture came up of the Enterprise NX-01, the first launched Enterprise vessel of what it could've become, the United Federation of Planets, flowing through the stars, it's red and blue warp nacelles glowing brightly.

"Then, came 1167 T.E. The Starship Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, had made contact with the Terran Empire. He had explained Starfleet, and it's alliance and partnership with the Vulcans, a fellow human like race. Starfleet was founded on a planet called Earth, much like the Terran Empire, but that is where their similarity came to an end."

"Starfleet's goal was to seek out life, and in hopes, create peaceful relations. It was a fledgling force. One that the Terran Empire, chose to take advantage of. It's Starship design had weak defences, and little in the way of weapons, but was fast, able and efficient. They required less crews then the Terran Empire's huge warships, and if the design was improved, they could easily house several fighters. This was by gaining the blueprints of the Enterprise, for an exchange of intel and information of the Terran Empire that Archer wanted, so he had something to take home and give to his superiors."

Now the pictured simply turned darker, the Enterprise could barely be seen.

"As it departed the border of Terran Empire space, the Enterprise was destroyed by three of the Terran's warships. War, was declared openly to Starfleet. A war which did not even last for a quarter of a year."

"Starfleet and it's Earth, was easily overrun and outmatched. With little choice, they surrendered. Their allies, the Vulcans, as Terran Warships begun to head towards their world, gave in after a failed attempt to fight back at Earth. With both of these out of the picture, and their information and star charts handed over to the Terran Empire, a new conquest began."

"There was dozens, of new races across this fresh new part of the Universe before them. Races, worlds to harvest. They knew to learn from the great war of the Outer Rim they had. To use those planets they conquer as quick as they could, to be careful with supplies, and make use of technology that these inferior races held."

It now showed the flag of the Galactic Republic, crossing over with the flag of the Terran Empire.

"In their fresh confidence and taste of blood against outsiders, they also attacked the Galactic Republic, unprovoked, deciding to try and force them under their thumb too. The 'Unification March' , as it was named, begun in 1169 T.E"

"The Galactic Republic was the most difficult opponent they encountered. It was advanced compared to all those that were close to where Starfleet was. Battles were struggles, the fighters of the Republic outmatched those of the Terran Empire, and their Battleships were carrying equal firepower to those of the Terran Empire's Warships."

"Noticing they were having less trouble one way, the Terran Empire focused most of it's military to the Galactic Frontlines, while it left a decent size army to tackle the small races it had come across so far. It was one Empire against another, the main focus of the war."

"What turned the war to the favour of the Terran Empire, was the production of Starships. In 1177 T.E, the first fleet of Starships, based on the design of the Enterprise, were launched into the frontlines. Thanks to technology of the so far races that have been destroyed or enslaved in the conquest, these ships had powerful Phasers, Missiles, Photon Torpedoes and Shields. There speed allowed them to avoid most firepower of the Battleships of the Republic, and pick them off one by one. The Fighters were a small problem, but couldn't stop the new vessels of the Empire destroying their main vessels."

"Soon, swarms of starships were being constructed. The Terran Warships slowly became outdated, as fighters were being transferred to the new ships. Little by little, the Galactic Republic broke."

"By 1200 T.E, Several parts of the Galactic Republic surrendered, not wishing harm to their planets, and some of the human races that were put of the Galactic Republic joined the Terran Empire. Even an outside force of it, known as the Mandalorians, joined the Empire in the battles against the Republic."

"In time, a key element to their victory appeared. The Trade Federation. The Terran Empire promised them much of the worlds within the Galactic Republic, if they were to join their side. The Federation were more then willing to rise up in arms and use their feeble, yet numerous droid army. The droids were literally thrown into the thick of it. They weren't effective at winning the battles, but they provided support, by wittering down the number of troopers and ships in each battle that came, giving the Empire a greater chance at victory in every one."

"With the Trade Federation, came Gatling Phasers and rapid Photon strikes. By applying the technology of this part of the universe into their starships, the Empire created rapid firing turrets, up to ten of them equipped on the hulls of their ships, which could fire bright red phaser blasts at 7 a second. Their aiming system was effective, easily targeting fighters and small ships alike. Photon Torpedo once had a slow time on their reload should four be used in succession, thanks to the Federation, a Starship could easily fire up to 10 of them, and only suffer half the reload time."

"In 1202 T.E, The planet of Coruscant had bowed to the Empire, after a seven month siege with reinforcements unable to reach it, despite the numbers that tried. This was the crippling, fatal blow to the Republic. It's core planet had fell, leaving them disheartened, and demoralized."

The next picture was of a massive, Republic Battleship, smashed into the grounds of a planet, which had red soil, green forests, and a dark pinkish sky. The ship was emitting vast amounts of smoke, was in areas of it, fire, was going out of control.

"They never recovered."

"By 1205 T.E, the Republic was all but destroyed. It's scattered armies tried to fight, but every time, it was just another defeat. In 1206 T.E, those that remained raised the white flag, begging the Terran Empire to spare them from anymore slaughter. The Empire said they would accept their surrender, if they handed over all of their remaining military and political leaders, and swore to obey and follow the Empire, those that did not, would die."

"Over 200 executions occurred, of those leaders, who gave themselves in to spare their people. Several small groups of the Republic chose to not obey the Empire…whatever world they were on, it was bombed, and destroyed entirely. Killing and murdering everyone on those worlds regardless if they were with those that refused or not."

"The Trade Federation did not walk away freely. They also paid the price. As their leaders visited Earth X to speak about the worlds they want, they were betrayed. The Empire wiped out their Space Stations and Ships, destroyed and bombed their factories and bases, and their leaders were slain in the palace of the Empire."

The next image showed remains of ships, all kinds, drifting in the void of space.

"As all of this had happened, at the other side of things, the Empire had advanced greatly. Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Ferengi, The most distant race, the Dominion, and many others fell, their grip on what was once called 'The Alpha Quadrant' was certain and secure."

Then, it showed a picture of several cube shaped vessels, all dark grey, seemingly made of scrap metal, with areas of them emitting a dark, eerie green glow.

"All but one force remained against them in that Quadrant …The Borg."

"Adaptive Shields, Assimilation abilities, and self repairing vessels. The Borg were a foe that demanded respect. When the Terran Empire first clashed with them, it ended in a severe defeat. 2 Borg cubes managed to destroy 17 ships, and assimilate one. With that, they gained a large amount of information about the Terran Empire, and it's current technology."

It showed now, the Borg cubes firing several green coloured phasers, against a wave of Terran Empire starships, all of the same design of the NX-01, just the warp nacelles emitting a dark purple glow instead of red, and bright green instead of blue. Most of the starships being blasted and shattered to bits as the still picture had taken, the moment the phasers made contact with their weak hulls.

"For once, the Terran Empire was being pushed back from worlds. It was unable, at first, to tackle the Borg. The unexpected new enemy required the Empire to relocate much of it's military force. With numbers, they eventually got the Borg to halt their advance. It was this time, that, in 1211 T.E, the 'Borg War' now began, as the 'Unification March' was over."

"The Empire faced a worrying time, as the Borg were not being defeated easily in each battle, and the amount of ships being lost was at an all time high. It took them over 13 years to gain rapid adapting shield technology, changing frequencies for their gatling phasers, more powerful torpedoes and improved hull plating, in order to improve the chances of their starships, which had changed in design by this point, now known as Constitution Class and Miranda Class ships. By this time, all remaining Warships were decommissioned and scrapped to make more starships in their place."

"The war, painfully, dragged on for an additional 39 years, with the Borg winning and taking over the odd world or station here and there, When a young, but very able scientist named Gerald Robotnik, at the age of 20, and a master of genetics, came up with a project that would bring victory."

A photo of a young man, with brown short hair, blue eyes, and brown stubble on his pale face, wearing a lab coat, was seen with several another scientists to his left and right, him being in the middle, and before them, three rows of 10 very, very young children, of at least 5 to 9, all wearing white gowns over their bodies, all of different hairstyle, colour and looks…but all of them, with a fazed out, hypnotised expression.

"The Project was named by him, as 'The Super Children Project'...it's goal, to make fear, in the machines. It took him five years to get it off the ground, but by 1268 T.E, The first batch of young, gene effected children, were placed in four starships in an encounter with the Borg."

"The Borg, 5 cubes in total, were unable to take out a single one of the 27 vessels before them. The children, with their unique, psychic power, connected to the minds of the collective, and shattered it's unity. they could not hear each other, nor hear their queens. Many of the cyborg were unable to accept the loneliness, and the fear the children fed into their minds, and attacked other drones, and eventually, committed suicide. The cubes were helpless before the Empire."

"What destroyed the collective quicker, was the fact the Empire took several cubes once a string of victories began to occur, and looted what technology they could. With it, they managed to create multiple shielding for their vessels, and powerful plasma torpedoes."

"Gerald's Project, 14 years after it was suggested and brought into action, in 1282 T.E, brought about the complete wipe out of the Borg Collective, ending the 'Borg War', which had lasted for 71 years."

The once young man, was now older, sitting on a golden throne, with over a three dozen people bowing before him. He had suffered balding over the years, and instead of a beard, he had a long moustache, still that brown colour. He also now wore round glasses, that were held up by the pinch of his nose, and wore a golden robe, with gold sandals. Behind his throne, was a large flag of the empire.

"Gerald was regarded as a hero, and his project continued to be made for anything that may occur in the future, and for slavery needs, as the Children controlled the minds of slaves with fear, forcing them to work anywhere the Terran Empire needed. Gerald, for saving the Terran Empire, was named the new Emperor in 1283 T.E as many in the public and military demanded he take control for being the key to ending the war they all feared they would lose. The formal Emperor, Sirius Tullius, refused to step down, but he, and his large family, were forced…in a murderous bloodbath committed by several of his bodyguards, to stand down, as it were. His bodyguards were executed by Gerald to make sure they didn't do it to him at a later time."

"Gerald wanted his legacy to be secure, and so adopted a daughter named Bertha Robotnik, who later married and gave birth to a daughter named Maria Robotnik, who, Gerald felt, as she grew, would be a wonderful Empress when her time comes and a bright future for the Empire."

The picture had turned black and white now.

"It seemed, in 1294 T.E, she would be his only heir, as Bertha and her Husband were killed in one of the Miranda Class starships, known as the T.E Skyhorse, as it got too close to a black hole during research. Maria was no more then 11 years old."

There, the image, taken from the doorway by the looks of it, showed of Gerald, in a darkened bedroom, on his hands and knees, no doubt in tears, as before him, in a double bed, was a blond haired girl, her body covered with a purple silk sheet, her head neatly resting on a purple pillow…her skin showing her veins clearly all over her face, but she looked peaceful...

"Then things turned for the worse, as Maria, in 1308 T.E, no more then after a week from the celebrations of a new year, died at the age of 24. It was revealed by a grieving Gerald that she too, was a Super Child, as he had experimented on her during when she was a baby, to grant her their powers, so that no one could use them on her should they try."

"His experimenting, as a downfall, required her to take injections of Phazon and Chaos liquid, in order to prolong her life, each month, to keep her alive beyond what all super children could only live up to…the age of 10. She had taken control of the injections for the last 4 years of her life, and he knew she was suffering from them, and depressed from being on such a life support as this, he warned her should she ever miss but a few in a row, she wouldn't survive…"

"She didn't take her injection for the last few months, and allowed herself to die, to end her own suffering."

The image vanished.

"Gerald was a broken man. For the rest of his days, he wore only the clothing that he wore to Maria's funeral, refusing, no matter where he went, to change them, and each day, he would hand wash them himself, and people claimed they would hear him cry each morning as he did."

"In 1325 T.E, he ceased all travels, and never went beyond the throne room. No one was allowed to see him, no one but two people. His close advisors, Thomas Light, and Albert Wily."

"By 1327 T.E, Light and Wily found him dead, on the throne, having taken his last breath several minutes before they arrived. Having died at the age of 79, he was regarded as one of the greatest emperors the Terran Empire has ever had."

"Thomas and Albert were the closest people to Gerald beyond his lost family, and a voting was declared on who would become the next emperor. Thomas made sure by using trickery and manipulation to win the voting, and in the same year as Gerald's death, was named the new Emperor, aged at 26."

The Brotherhood of Steel flag was now shown.

"Wily refused to accept Thomas's new power reign, and soon created an uprising. In 1334 T.E, A new civil war within the Terran Empire broke out, led by Wily in order to overthrow Thomas and begin an era of 'peace and unity between humanity and all other races.'…a very radical and strange ideal to the Empire, but many followed it, leading to the creation of the Brotherhood of Steel."

"The Civil War had mostly stayed within the inner systems of the Empire, Wily's genius level of intellect helped the Brotherhood avoid being detected in any raids they commenced against the military bases and space stations. By 1349 T.E, there had been over 2,000 raids across the systems, crippling major areas and worlds."

" Emperor Light, was not the efficient, able person the Empire had hoped for. He suffered from indecisiveness on the issues, and wasn't sure on how to proceed against the Brotherhood of Steel. Whatever he did suggest and bring into action, fell flat, unable to produce any good results. It was believed that, if Light did not find a way to cripple the brotherhood, it would be within 20 more years, that the Terran Empire would be broken apart by them."

The next image, the Blade of Darkness, it's tip stabbed into a dusty landscape, no life around it, the sun on the horizon.

"Their fate was changed, by the digital being known as Chad Malyan. In 1362 T.E. He was created by his father Chaos, on the planet called Beyondard, as a tool of war for the Empire. As a Net Navi, the normal process would be to go through a child stage. But Chaos refused to allow it, creating Chad to be able and ready the moment he was finished. With Chad, was another tool by the name of Iris, Chad's younger sister, and one called Colonel, the eldest of the three."

"Chad was given the abilities of a Mobian and levels of psychic power, before entering the military along with his sister and brother. Within 3 months, he had finished training and was ready to be put in the lines to handle the Brotherhood of Steel. By the year's end, he had risen up in the ranks due to his skill in handling the Brotherhood and ordering his fellow men."

There was a picture of a mobian, by the looks of it, a hedgehog one, covered, in head to foot, in black power armor, shaped to his body, it's eye visors glowing red, as it stood there, looking ahead, and behind it, an entire army of Terran Troopers, guns in their hands, ready to march.

"By 1365 T.E, he brought down over five major chapters, factions, of the Brotherhood. He was now holding the rank of Commander, and discarded the name of Chad, as he felt it was too common for history, regarding himself as unique. Instead, demanding for future battles, he wanted power armor designed for his mobian abilities, and from now on, to be called, Doomsder."

"He took down Wily, and most of his family, at the end of that year. This broke the Brotherhood's morale, and made them go into hiding and keep low profiled, essentially ending the civil war. Doomsder was thanked by Light, praised highly, but beyond that, nothing."

The image goes black.

"Doomsder wanted more."

It now showed that same armoured mobian sitting on a Starship bridge, like that of the Enterprise-D, head resting on one arm, one leg over the other. Around him were humans wearing black overalls, with the symbols of the Terran Empire on their torsos. The lighting of the place was much darker, with green neon lights being the common source of light on the bridge, giving an eerie glow to the entire place, especially, to Doomsder.

"1366 T.E, as the inner system begun their recovery, Doomsder, with help from Iris, Colonel, Chaos and Captain Keaton Al'Keriff, he begun his own rebellion, with 20 of the newly developed class starships, Galaxy Destroyers, which were only had just gone into production. Doomsder had all the active ones under his thumb."

"The first act of his rebellion, was to dispose of the flagship of, what was, to be his own fleet. It was under the command of Supreme General M Bison, who received Doomsder with open arms when he asked on to come onboard his ship, TE Valiant. Doomsder suggested to him calmly, according to reports, that they should take power from the weak hands of Emperor Light. Bison gave him one stern warning, telling him never to speak to him about the idea of rebellion again."

"Doomsder nodded in understanding, and then simply raised his hand, and fired a burst of Chaos Energy, powerful enough, it disintegrated Bison into nothing. Once he committed the act, he used his Chaos Energy once more, and vanished from the ship, back to the bridge of his own vessel, the TE Enterprise-A, the name chosen by him to remind people of the vessel that reached them, the moment the Empire made contact with it's now outer worlds."

"With one swift order, his ship, along with the others under this fleet, opened fire at the TE Valiant, which was a Galaxy Destroyer itself, but was easily overwhelmed and taken out, before it could even make a decent fight, with it ending by several plasma torpedoes smashing into it's engineering section, destroying the entire vessel."

It showed that several lookalikes to the Galaxy class vessel of Starfleet was above the planet earth, hovering around it, their warp nacelles colouring the same as the first starships made by the Empire, NX class.

"With this over with, they moved in on Earth X, with only a day away, and Emperor Light informing his people that they were simply returning to personally get thanks from him, Thomas got a call from Doomsder, surprising him. He demanded why the lower ranking member of the fleet was allowed to contact him without prior notice. Doomsder said he'll get to the case and asked Light to simply surrender the throne."

"Light demanded to speak to M Bison, in a furious manner. Doomsder calmly sat back in his chair and said that Bison was no longer available. He suggested, after a slight chuckle, that Emperor Light just do what he asked, and also tell any nearby fleets to stand down, as he had control of the new Galaxy Destroyers, and in a mocking tone, said that the Empire can't afford to lose anymore ships."

"Thomas Light gave him one warning, and one warning only. 'Do not approach Earth, or you will be fired upon. You have one week to either leave Terran Empire space, or surrender and accept the charges of attempted rebellion.'"

"Doomsder sat there silently for a few minutes, as the communication was disconnected. Then gave the order to advance to Earth. His words to his fleet were, They were going to 'liberate' Earth, from the weak fool that was their current Emperor, and he will take his place, to make a bold step forward for the Empire."

The image turned black and white.

"Earth, and it's orbiting defence force, was unable to hold back the onslaught of these new, advanced ships, which held something that none of the other vessels of the Empire had…Cloaking Devices. Doomsder order them all to go into hiding as they moved towards Earth, and positioned themselves in such a way, that their first wave assault would take down several of the vessels protecting the planet, and two of it's four space stations…the surprise attack worked perfectly."

Doomsder was now sitting on the great throne of the Empire, and several feet before him, laid the body of Dr Light, in his golden robes, laying on his stomach, and the Blade of Darkness impaled into his back, a pool of blood surrounding the corpse.

"Doomsder sent himself down to the Palace of the Empire, and murdered Yuuichiro, the son of Emperor Light, Haruka, the wife of the son, and destroyed the 9 Bodyguard robots Thomas had. By the evening of the day he came, Doomsder sat on the throne of the Empire, on the floor before him, was the body of Emperor Thomas Light, Doomsder's weapon, the Blade of Darkness, embedded into the emperor's back. Thomas Light died at the age of 65."

"Doomsder's final phase came into play from here. He signalled his fleet, telling them on the victory in the palace, and then, informed them to open fire on his Fathers, and Brothers vessels. Chaos, with his wife Auroa, and their eldest creation Colonel, were killed, their ships, lost. Iris contacted Doomsder to let him know they were dealt with, calling him Emperor Doomsder, the first person to do so."

"1366 T.E, and at the age of 4 years, Doomsder was accepted as Emperor, having killed Thomas Light with his own blade, he was deemed acceptable, as he had proven the rule of survival of the strongest clearly. He swore to not be as idle as Light to the people that doubted him, and promised to push the Empire into new grounds, to bring about something that was seen as impossible, but with his voice, it sounded otherwise…total unification, of their universe."

"At 1375 T.E, all of the military fleet had their ships improved to the newest designs, and the borders of the Farside had been scouted, to see for easy pickings and quick attacks in their initial advance. The inner systems were back up to full strength, and any attacks made by the lingering Brotherhood was met with brutal retaliation. Doomsders promise of a new war and new worlds seemed to be coming true, and if he failed to keep the promise in his lifetime, he was prepared for it to continue in his genes."

"He had taken three wives, who he chose from whoever he wanted, and he wanted people to match his age. Anna Hael and Lucy Valentine, both aged 13 in human lifespans, as they were not Navi's, but one mobian, one human. Both were finally showing signs of being able to bear him children, and when they hit 14, he would make sure they did. Only his third wife, Roll, a Net Navi, was currently carrying a child."

"It was also in this year, a breakthrough had occurred in their science and technology…portals. Not just any portal, but gateways to other Universes, as their small probes sent through revealed and confirmed. In the temples of Azrael, it was said of 19 other Universes, one containing the greatest evil, the blue skinned monsters called the Oni. The Empire was overjoyed with the possibility to expand itself further to other Universes once this one was theirs, and join with other Terran Empires to combat this said evil."

"The first manned crews to voyage into this new gateway, was the crews of four vessels, the lead one, commanded by Captain Janeway, called the TE Voyager, promised to make a mark in the new universe they were about to see."

"They never came back. Destroyed within Universe 10, as I have gathered, after encountering the United Federation of Planets, and realizing not all of mankind are cruel and ambitious."

"At 1379 T.E, Doomsder decided himself, to test the gateway technology, to see if there were any allies beyond here, for their coming, when the Farside belongs to them. He was warned not to go, but he ignored it, and later on in that year, he vanished from this Universe, into the same one the TE Voyager went to. He promised to return within two weeks to give a report."

The picture was that, similar, to the first Blade of Darkness picture, with it's tip stabbed in the ground, but now it was night time, the stars glowing brightly, and moonlight, being shown to be shining down on the sword, which looked slightly rusted.

"He too, never returned, and was declared dead by the end of the year. Doomsder had reigned for 13 years, the shortest reign ever recorded in the history of the Empire. But the legacy he left behind, would last."

"His wife, Lucy Valentine, knew that, with Doomsder gone, people would look to her and the other two to see who's children would be the rightful successors to the power left behind, and for the first time in history, one of these three wives would have to take the throne, to be the first woman, in control of the Empire."

"She knew to make sure. With the help of Iris Malyan, She stabbed Roll to death without anyone seeing or claiming she had done it, and poisoned Anna one evening during a meal together to discuss, ironically, the seat of power. Having removed the competition, she then took their children under her care, and claiming them as her own, yet also securing the future for her bloodline, as now, without their parents, those children could not have a right to the throne once Lucy was named Empress, and only her blood could have any rights."

There she was, a girl with long, pink hair, sitting on the throne, with gold robes, and over a hundred people bowing before her, and the picture showed her dark smirk, as she knew she was in a powerful position.

"In 1380 T.E, it had come to pass. The first Empress, Lucy Valentine, had been named and accepted at the age of 17."

"During her time, not only was the conquest of the Farside begun, but she also improved the rights to the women of humanity, allowing them to join the army as much as the men, whereas the likes of Iris, and Janeway, were special exceptions due to great skills and determination to push by the sexist boundary. By doing this, the army of the Terran Empire was increased greatly, as millions of women joined up."

"It was in 1404 T.E, during their movement into deeper areas of the Farside, Lucy Valentine, with her daughter, Lacus Malyan, taken the last name of her father in his honour, aboard the Enterprise-A, that they, along with a fleet of 30 ships, encountered the Oni, for the first time."

"The battle of Oblivion, as it was named, begun. The Terran Empire, against the Oni Warships, had the initial advantage, quickly opening fire when it dawned on them that it was the very demons their religion spoke of. But the Oni keep bringing reinforcements from all directions, picking off several of the Terran Ships as the battle dragged on, with only a handful of additional Empire ships arriving to aid their Empress."

"Lucy, as the battle drew on, seeing her ship being damaged, and all the others struggling with the numbers all around them, knew it was becoming hopeless. She ordered her crew to abandon ship, and contacted nearby vessels to beam out the crew. Hugging her daughter goodbye, and seeing her teleport away, she gave her final order, for all of the ships to make a run for it. It was seen that the Enterprise-A quickly begun to move forward, opening fire at as many of the Oni Warships and fighters as possible, to grab their attention."

"The Oni mostly focused on the vessel, as Lucy had intended, and as the Warships sprayed it's weakening hull, the remaining Empire ships made a full retreat. It was confirmed by long distance scanning, the Enterprise-A was destroyed, ending Lucy Valentine, aged 41."

"The moment Lacus Malyan, aged 26, became the next empress, she declared the 'Mankind's Holy Crusade' War to begin."

Now, it was an image of over thousands of Starships, of different sizes and classes, all swarming together, heading to battle.

"It was happening again, like all before…Man versus Oni. The Terran Empire did not prepare for skirmishes, it did not plan to prolong this war. This was it. Their true enemy before them. A million armed starships from across the Empire begun a slow move into the Farside, with the intention of utterly destroying every single Oni and their technology and way of life."

"From here, most of it's history was of battles. Worlds nuked, wiped of life. Space stations smashed into debris, warships falling to the Empire, stories of heroes and sacrifices made to inch them closer to victory. Inch closer…that's what it seemed to be like to them. The Oni fought back just as viciously as them, refusing to allow them to win and take the Farside of this Universe."

A tattered flag lay in mud, small puddles of water around it. It was the flag of the Oni. The Oni flag had a grey background to it. It's icon, was of one Angel Wing, coloured blue, and one demon wing, coloured purple.

"But it happened. The Oni finally were wiped clean off the Universe by 1525 T.E. 121 years, Four generations of Malyan's, who always made themselves go to the frontlines, despite being Emperors and Empresses. But there was no victory celebration. For as the Emperor of the time, Charles Malyan, aged 34, was given the report that not only were the gateways fully safe and functional, but a frightening report came in, confirming the existence of the most Evil Universe to the Terran Empire…Universe One, the Oni's prime Universe."

"Charles left his five kids behind, and dispatched a fleet of 100,000 Starships, all that have served in the war, while he sat onboard the now family inherited name after Lucy, TE Enterprise-D. With several emitter Space Stations, they managed to form a Portal large enough for the fleet to enter, to their holy mission."

It was an image of several space stations in the stars, all with huge antenna arrays on top of them, pointing to one location, small firing a blue energy beam, and where those energy beams struck, a dark, purple and foreboding looking swirling vortex opened.

"None returned. Reports came through as the days progressed, but eventually, it went silent, with the last vessels admitting they had failed, and they were overwhelmed. Their emperor was dead, his ship lost, and they were going to make a last stand."

"Their arrival, their declaration of war, their fighting abilities and technology shocked the Oni Universe to the core. It made them realize that, after so long, so many cycles, they were actually being hunted again, to the point the invaders can get into their Universe, something that hasn't been seen for those said cycles. The numbers they lost was at least eighteen times more then what the Empire had lost in that suicide mission."

"David, the son to Charles, aged no more then 15, took command of the throne in 1528 T.E, promising to make the way for the new step in the war, of their crusade. But now, slowly, the Empire was having civil troubles once more. The Brotherhood of Steel had been more active now, and were trying to rally enough support to stand up to the Empire."

"This did not faze David, and he simply continued his policy of now entering other Universes, and laying the foundations for later arrivals, take uninhabited worlds, create space stations, and gateways to guarantee a pathway."

"54 years, his reign held. He finally passed away in 1582 T.E, having his two Children late in his life. One, the chosen heir, was Lacus Malyan, aged 16, and her sister was Blaze Malyan, aged 14. Lacus became Empress Lacus the 2nd."

"As the 8th Generation of the Malyan bloodline, She has been seen as the…most unique, leader they had so far. She was concerned and worried over the prepared advancements into the other Universes, and felt alot of pity for slaves. But it continued on, the Terran Empire would not stop it's one goal, one mission now. The current year, is 1584 T.E, and the mission?"

The Terran Empire flag showed one final time.

"End the Oni. End those that support them. Win the War."

"All this was made possible, by the Enclave. They existed at the moment the Terran army was formed on Earth X, their name has popped up at times in the history."

"But beyond that, they are elusive, and hidden. They are denied to exist to the public and most military within the Terran Empire. Only those of the highest rank know of their existence."

* * *

Suddenly the next image was that of two words, glowing bright red on a black background 'ACCESS DENIED.'.

"And it seems that this computer is like many others before. It holds no answers, to them."

It was now we see who had been speaking out the entire time, reading the history as he went, looking at the glowing light of a tattered and damaged computer touch screen. Around the man, the room he was in, it was in a terrible state. Seemingly having been damage by either a disaster or human actions, the concrete walls of the place were cracked, wooden furniture, no doubt the seating, was destroyed, torn pages from ruined books, the floor, it's once red carpet, dusty and torn, the hanging lights from the ceiling, their light bulbs smashed. Nearby was only one door leading out, a metal door. The computer was on a steel desk, being the only thing left on it that was useable. It had a printer once, additional data disk insertion devices, but they were all smashed to hell.

The man appeared in his 30's. human. He had dark tanned skin, and was an average body width and stood at 6 and half feet tall. He was muscled, but this wasn't muscles from training or working out, this was from endurance, from survival and pushing himself.

He had golden eyes, once brown, now effected by mass radiation over time, including them now glowing in darkened places. A light beard covered his roughened face…which could not be seen now, as he had a breathing mask on, covering his mouth, it's straps on his ears. It was made to tackle radiation to lessen the intake, but nowadays, he wore it whenever he went. His hair was brown, thick and of medium length. It was twisted into dreadlocks…a custom of a tribe, he was once in long ago.

He wore a black shirt, with a light brown bandoleer that went over his shoulder and around his waist, around his neck, was a few hand made necklaces, one, had an eagle at the middle of it and was golden, the other, silver, with a wolf instead. He wore tightened, leather black trousers, black army boots, and dark grey knee pads. Above all this, he wore a black, sleeveless duster over it, which had, imprinted on it's back, a unique variation of the stars and strips of the USA. It had one blue circular part to it, which was embedded with 14 white stars, 13 around the sides, and one big one in the middle, and underneath that circle segment, 8 lengths of red and white.

Being carried on his back, was a long, gold and steel pole, which had an eagle at the top of it forged onto it. His primary weapon. His other weapon was a 12mm submachine that was ready for use next to his hip, and a bowie knife, mostly for food needs if anything, but if the staff is out of reach…

On his right wrist, was a metal device with a green screen, a cylinder shape, attached right around that part of his arm. It had, roughly scratched on one side of it '13, 8. Courier Six.'

The door of the room was heard opening, and stepping in, was a man wearing Power armour that resembled the IUP armour of so many cycles ago, except it had, on one shoulder, the icon of the Brotherhood of Steel. The man in question had his helmet off, showing he was at least over 50, with green eyes, an worn face, with wrinkles, and had grey thick hair, and a decent full beard on him. He spoke, with a gruff voice "Ulysses, we need to get moving. We got a squad of Terran boys coming our way. Chuck thinks we got about 10 minutes before they get here."

The man, now called Ulysses, turned around, looking at the man, who he knew was called Raymond Sullivan, and nodded, before walking up to him.

Sullivan spoke to Ulysses, as he was about to go past the doorway. "Did you find anything anyways?"

Ulysses stopped, and shook his head. "Nothing but the story of the past, smeared in blood and sadness."

Sullivan sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, before looking at Ulysses once more. "It's horrible what we did I know, but it's our history. We're not proud of it. The damned Terran Empire are the ones who see it as glory and honour. That's why we're standing against them, so they can't make another several bloody pages to it."

Ulysses was silent, then, as he and Sullivan left the room, making a quick walking speed down a trashed, concrete corridor. "You will have a new blood covered page to your history, regardless. Your rebellion, your stand."

"If that's what it takes to stop them, we'll do it." Sullivan then continued, as he and Ulysses quickly begun going down a stairway, leading to the exit of this ruined building. "Let's hope Frank West manages to get some data of the Enclave in sector 12 if we couldn't grab any. We need it to know what we're up against with those bastards, and get you the info you want about goings on in your universe."

Ulysses mumbled to himself. "The road you walk, is harsh indeed…but not the one I'm on."

…..

"Mine, is of corruption."


	9. Lonesome Road I

_He lives to find a reason, for all those that are like him. To have a tomorrow to believe in…and to settle a personal hatred._

* * *

"_The Divide, a destroyed world, torn down by corruption__…__A road.__"_

The voice belonged to Ulysses. Who was seen standing, on a asphalt road, in the middle of it. Looking ahead into a dust storm before him, nothing could be seen beyond it. It was daytime, as what could be seen, the sky above, a light dirty brown, the sun's rays, just barely passing through the harsh clouds.

"_A path that we have been set on. A path to follow.__"_

Standing close to him one side, was Terra of the Final Fantasy 6 world of Universe 8, looking worried at the storm before them.

"_It may lead to hope, or perhaps, despair.__"_

On the other side of Ulysses, was Sephiroth of the FF7 world of Verse 8, looking to the storm, calm, collected, even with a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"_A look into what we are.__"_

Close by to Terra, was the man seen in the tavern of traverse town of Universe 10. His name was Colonel Barrel. He seemed distracted, looking into the far distance of the side of them.

"_A way to know our future.__"_

Standing with Sephiroth, with a look of determination at the dust storm, was Keaton Al'Keriff of Verse 8.

"_A way to understand our past.__"_

Sitting cross legged, close by to Barrel, was a man in a grey tunic, baggy trousers, with a grey bandanna on his head, with bandages tied around his arms, and wearing white sandals. He had average length white hair, parted in the middle, and a white beard. This, was Toki, from Universe 10, but over 200 years past Barrel's time.

"_A way to accept the present.__"_

Dark Rich, from Universe 10, stood near Keaton, arms crossed. He wore a black leather tunic, which had imprinted, a white skull and crossbones on the torso, Black leather trousers and boots, with two red belts around his waist, with gold bucklers. He had brown gloves on, and a leather cape to finish, which was velvet red on the inside, and gold stitched linen on the edges, it was attached to his clothing by the neck piece, which was large enough to cover his mouth when he turned his head side to side. On the front of that neck segment, was also a white skull and crossbones. Connected to one of the belts, was a holster, for his rapier styled vibroblade.

"_To see what awaits us. Since, in the end, this, is our road__…"_

Standing directly behind Ulysses, and close to Sephiroth and Terra, was Q, in his Starfleet uniform, looking saddened slightly, as he was looking down at one of his hands, which held a segment of a broken mirror, his reflection in it.

"_Our road__…"_

Dark Rich uncrossed his arms.

"_Our road__…"_

Keaton clenched his fists.

"_Our road__…"_

Toki stood up, looking to the storm now.

"_Our road__…"_

Barrel pulled out a silver forged pistol, a desert eagle, loaded it with ammunition, then focused on the storm.

"_Our road__…"_

Sephiroth gently put one of his hands on the hilt of his Masamune.

"_Our road__…"_

Terra put her hands together, looking at Ulysses, then to the storm.

"_This, is our road__…"_

Ulysses grabbed the eagle staff from his back, holding it in one hand, as the storm slowly covers them, leaving everything black.

"…_It is one, we must walk, alone__…"_

* * *

"_I found him…in the Divide…"_

"_I knew he would come one day, but to come straight this way, to not journey to the other places first, to find the tracks, the trail, to me…"_

Coming into view, was ruins. Of a city, destroyed by explosives, the sky above, an orange colour, dust storms covering the place. On a dusty, asphalt road that's seen, is a body of a man, laying on his back, a small puddle of blood around him, a steel blackish gauntlet, called a power fist, close by to him.

"_I had walked back into this god forsaken place from what I called, my temple here, when I noticed members of the Brotherhood of Steel were seen in the distance, leaving."_

"_My heart sank, when I saw his body on the ground."_

The speaker, as we now see, was Ulysses, who stepped closer and closer towards the body, almost in a dazed way. As he got closer, we could see what the man wore…an blue, leather made suit, with a single shoulder pad of metal armor on the left side. A circler device on his wrist, and around his neck, was silver necklace, with the part that hung from it, in the shape of a wolf, in an aggressive posture.

The man had to be no more then mid-20's, his hair, dark brown, a slight stubble of a beard on his face, his eyes were dark brown, his skin, was now pale. His name to many in the wasteland beyond this place, called the Mojave, was Courier Six. Actual name, which Ulysses knew…

Richard Wily.

Ulysses bent down on one knee, and looked carefully at the body. Energy burnt marks was seen on the gear, along with a few charred holes…and flesh behind them.

"_They had killed him, before I could deliver my message…his necklace, like my own, but a wolf…an Eagle and a Wolf, two roaming spirits…"_

Ulysses leaned closer, and put one of his hands over the eyes of Richard, gently pressing on the eyelids to close them, as his hand slowly moved away.

"_As I touched his skin, I felt something. Something inside me, told me to look onto his back. To this day, I do not what it was, but I could not ignore this feeling."_

Ulysses was hesitant, but slowly, he rolled Richard over, curiosity engulfing him. When Richard landed on his front with a small thud, Ulysses saw it. On the back of Richard's leather suit, was two yellow numbers. A '1' and a '3', both looking worn down from time. Combined, they made '13' on his back.

"_When I saw 13, my head began to hurt. At first, a small aching pain, but it grew, fast."_

Ulysses shook his head slightly, trying to ignore the pain, but soon, he was putting his hands on his head, feeling like his mind was gonna explode, eyes tight shut, trying not to call out in agony.

_"I, was terrified of what was happening. That number. That number meant something, my mind, felt, like it was ripping itself apart to find the answer. The answer, to something, I never, wanted, nor, intended to know."_

Ulysses fell sidewards, hitting the asphalt and dirt, grabbing his head tightly, writhing in pain, as he begun to hear hundreds….thousands of whispers, more and more coming into his mind. His eyes suddenly shot open, widened in terror.

"_A Million whispers, flowed, into my mind. So many words, so many messages…but, throughout them all, one, message repeated."_

"_Thirteen. Thirteenth Cycle. Eight, Universe Eight. Cursed Number. Cursed Wave. Cursed Power…Corruption."_

"_From there, my mind went blurry, my sanity, destroyed for a time. I remember, taking the necklace of Richard, then, his wrist device, a, Pip-boy, as it's known as, a machine that can help in combat, and an effective mapping device…I remember scratching it, putting 13, Courier Six and 8 on it."_

All that's seen, are flashes of images. Screams of men and women alike, some of even monsters of some sort, blood being sprayed across the floor and walls. The pole of Ulysses's, dripping in blood, as were his hands, breathing mask, and face, his eyes, showing that of a mad man, wide, alert, and expressing joy. He was heard weakly laughing as more blood was spilled, more lives taken by him.

Soon, we see Ulysses, the outline of him, walking off down one of the ruined roads, leaving imprints of his shoes, made of blood behind…close to the road, were ruins of once apartments, office buildings, homes…and on their walls, written in blood, was things such as '8' 'Eight' 'Corruption, exists?' 'Thirteenth Cycle.' '13,8.' 'No Courier.' 'Courier Six. Lost.' 'Where are you? What are you?'

"_I was told that, for weeks, I had caused death in the Divide. If I was not within the place I called home, within the Divide, I was outside, and anything I saw that moved, I killed without care. Used it's blood, to write my distorted and mad message across the place."_

Ulysses, was seen now, sitting on a set of metal steps, looking downwards, at his legs, his arms, on the steps, seemingly looking tired. The blood on him had dried, clinging to his clothing, the blood on his hands and arms, black now…his mask was down at the bottom of the steps, having just been dropped by him. He had allowed himself to grow a more full, unshaven beard, his care to himself, gone, his hair was losing it's dreadlock appearance, becoming more shaggy.

He was sitting inside a major military missile silo station, several white, massive and armed missile, stood at the ready around him. One was behind him, at the top of the steps, all of them, carried the same flag as him on his back. The Old World American flag, of his planet. In front of the missile behind him, he had put up one of the few large flags showing this, having it ready, for the day he and the Courier were to settle things here….which would now never come.

The place was grim, old, rusted… all metal, with very old, and primitive looking computers, it was a massive hall, that, minus the missiles, was empty and void of life, but the man that sat down at those steps. That man, who was broken, destroyed inside, the whispers had filled every waking moment of his, his dreams, of fire, and machines, every night, every time he closed his eyes…he had no control anymore, no peace in either the sleeping world or the real one.

But that changed, when, he heard something distinctive. Footsteps, several of them, before they stopped. The sound after, of metal, being picked up slowly off the floor, as we see a figure of a man, in a Star Trek, Starfleet uniform gently picked up Ulysses's mask from the bottom of the steps, lifting it up towards his face, looking at it in curiosity…showing the person to be Q.

Ulysses slowly lifted his head up, looking down to the man before him, who had appeared from almost nowhere, his eyes still widened, and glowing yellowish green in the dim light, as he looked to the neatly dressed being.

Q looked up at him, amused slightly, before motioning at the mask. "You know, I expected you to remember the rules of keeping the mask on at all times when living in an irradiated area."

"_Q. he had appeared, like a light in darkness, his voice, more louder and clearer then the whispers, grabbing my attention fully…a light that intimidated me at first, after so long of wondering in the pitch black."_

Ulysses could not speak properly, the question his mind had made was 'How did you get in?', all he could blurt out was "Eight. Eight. Cursed Number. Cursed. Lost. Cycle 13."

Q sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Really did pull a number on you didn't it? Huh, I expected a natural awakening, especially by a mind that's open like yours, to be smoother then what it's did here."

"_Natural Awakening. A rare occurrence, Q claimed. It meant that a person may not have the normal lock-out mechanism in their mind, to protect it from the damaging effects of corruption, that he or she are vulnerable to finding out the truth. A fault, perhaps, of Azrael, or perhaps damage done, by those that control Corruption…"_

Q then slowly made his way up the steps, making Ulysses quickly stand up, grabbing the pole weapon of his in panic, ready to attack. Q just kept smiling. "Oh now really Ulysses. You don't need to be scared of me. I'm not gonna hurt you. Here, I'll even prove it to you, if you remain calm."

Ulysses didn't move, as Q got close. The voice was still as clear as anything compared to the whispers, and it made him obey. Q seem to stand there, just one step down from Ulysses, looking at him carefully. "I think after we sort you out, we need to get you cleaned up. Killing for weeks on end does leave a rather…" he sniffed the air a little, looking disgusted "Interesting, smell."

Q, then just put his hand on Ulysses's shirt, on his torso, gently pressing on it, and within seconds, the whispers begun to fade away, soon, disappearing altogether. He soon moved his hand away and tried to clean off the dried specks of blood that went on it. "There, I've blocked out the sound of history. Normally people can do it naturally after picking up corruption but, as I said, it made you go off the deep end."

"_They had vanished. My mind felt empty, alone, again. It had to pick up the pieces left behind, put itself, back together, from this prolonged nightmare I had lost myself in."_

Ulysses opened his mouth, trying to form words, but for the first time, he realized his mouth and throat was dry, his head, hurting like hell, and his eyelids suddenly had an urge to close, to catch up with lost time in the dream world. He stumbled back, hitting the front of the next step, and fell…a white flash, and a moment later, he found himself landing on something wonderfully comfy. A bed, an actual, proper, bed, king sized, his arms and legs stretched out on it, a silky cover on his back, his head, landing on two fluffed up silky pillows. He heard his pole staff hit the metal floor, but he couldn't care, his eyelids forcing themselves to close, all he knew was he was still in the massive silo, as he saw the metal plated ceiling, and the silo doors to allow the missiles to launch when opened…soon, he was asleep.

"_For the first time, I dreamed of home, my real home, where my tribe lived. The barren land we settled on, growing with food, new trees slowly rising from the earth, the huts we created from the ruins of the old world buildings, that were scorched by nuclear fire…no more fire sweeping the universe or machines destroying life, just home…what I didn't expect was when I woke up."_

When he opened his eyes again, he was briefly hit by sunlight, making him close them again, moving his hand over his eyes a little to block out the sudden light, as he slowly opened them. He noticed then, he was in a concrete created bedroom, the ceiling slightly cracked, as were the walls. And the sunlight, had come from a old, stained window to his left, it's brown, damaged curtains, hadn't been closed.

He slowly forced himself to sit up, noticing he was on a single bed, a metal frame, dirty, stained mattress, with no cover and one rough, dirty pillow. Next to the bed, on a bed stand, was a nuclear energy powered radio, looking like something out of the 50's. it was on, and the song being played was 'Happy Times.' as he knew it.

'Wish on the moon, and look for the gold in a rainbow.

And you'll find happy times.

You'll hear a tune, that lives, in the heart of a bluebird.

And you'll find happy times…'

Around the room, there was two wooden doors, both just solid bits, no design on them, and a metal doorknob. On the wall near the radio, was his eagle pole, leaning up on it, looking clean and new. A dark brown wardrobe was at the opposite wall, it's doors with badly stained grey glass. A single light was on in the room, from the ceiling, a white light bulb. The switch was close to one of the doors leading out.

It was his bedroom. This, was home.

He got off the bed, standing up, to now notice he lacked all his clothing bar a black pair of pants. He saw the dried blood on his skin, looking surprised, but shook it off as him forgetting to clean himself up from killing one of the animals of his world, a bighorner, a massive mountain goat that was a food source to the people now.

The first thing he did was go to one of doors, which, when opened, showed it led to a small bathroom, with an old, rusted bathtub, and a toilet. He begun running the bath, the village they had lived in had a water system that was still clean and fresh.

"_Memories, of the Divide, were gone. I felt strange, knowing I was older, that my hair was in a state, that I had a beard, and the blood on me, but with the memories blocked for a time, I accepted it as, laziness. That I had just been having a few months of no care for myself, I still had my ranch, my land."_

When he had taken a good hour to soak in that bathtub, a shave with a razor knife he had in the bathroom, getting rid of most of the beard, leaving a decent stubble, and sorted out his dreadlocks, he soon returned to his room, opening his wardrobe. His attire, hanging up neatly inside, all clean, with only some dirt marks on it, no blood, the old world flag, imprinted on the back of the sleeveless duster. He felt pride, looking at it each time. That technology, of that world, regardless of the nuclear fire, gave life and hope now, 200 years later.

He put all his attire on, then put the bowie knife he always carried in one of the pockets, and then noticed the 12mm submachine gun in the wardrobe…it confused him for a moment. Those types of guns weren't local, but he assumed that, it was from raiders most likely, and he'd forgotten about keeping it, putting it on his belt. then finally, he grabbed his eagle staff, looking at it, and smiling, before placing it on his back.

He felt…very hungry suddenly, and thirsty, not registering this when he was in the bath. He went to the other door, opening it, and showing that it led into the front room of his home, with a small wooden dining table in the middle of it, with four old wooden chairs, plates, spoons, knives and forks. A doorframe close by showed it lead to a kitchen. It all looked in the 50's era, the tiled, cracked floor, the clock on it wall, long since broken, the windows being simple square shapes, stained like the bedroom one.

"_I ate all kinds that morning, took what I had from the fridge, cooked it, ate it, enjoyed every mouthful, sitting there at my table, my home. Safe. When I felt content, I had finished the last of my bottled water."_

Ulysses had stood up from his table, his plate empty except a few specks of foodstuff, and walked towards the wooden door leading outside. He had to get to tending the ranch sometime, like always. The tribe needed him to look after their livestock. As he got close to the door though, he stopped dead in his tracks.

There was his usual small table close to his door, where he would put some bottled water at the ready for when he came back from the ranch…instead, there was a Pip-Boy, a radiation mask, and two necklaces, one gold with an eagle, one silver with a wolf. The mask and Pip-Boy threw him a little, but what confused him the most, was the two necklaces, picking them up gently, examining them closely.

Then his eyes widened, the memories flooding back.

"_I saw the necklaces, and then it hit me…I got them both at…"_

"The Divide.". The first words to leave the lips of Ulysses that came from his mind to his mouth, his memories quickly placing themselves together, his thoughts becoming stable. He was shocked, if anything, still looking at the necklaces, then to the Pip-Boy, noticing the scratching of 8, 13 and Courier Six on it, and then the mask.

He looked up from them, noticing the room had suddenly got darker, and night time had suddenly occurred, the faint moonlight beams entering his windows, the lights in the place, off, leaving him with only the eerie glow of the moon to see. A voice he now knew then spoke out to him, from the doorway to the kitchen. "Feeling better now?"

Q stood there, looking at him with a serious expression on his face. Ulysses slowly turned to look face to face with the intruder into his 'home'. "You, You were at the Divide."

"Correct."

"What sort of technology is this? To have created an image of my home?"

"Hm, thought you would think more outside this world. I created this. I felt you deserved some respite. Get yourself cleaned up and fed in an environment you knew was safe. It's due to what happened. You took it all rather badly, if you recall."

"What happened…" Ulysses closed his eyes, thinking, before continuing. "The whispers. The nightmares."

Q nods. "Yes. I've managed to fix that." motions at the table and chairs. "Should we sit down and discuss what's fully going on with you Ulysses? Once we dive into the topic, I'm sure you'll have questions."

Soon, we see them both sitting down on opposite ends of the table. The mask, Pip-Boy and necklaces laying close to Ulysses on it.

"_It felt like hours. We spoke of the Divide, when I found the body of Courier Six, when I went insane. Then the conversation went to…all kinds. I had many questions, so many of them, and Q took his time talking to me. I found out he was an Angel to the god that created our Multiverse, that there was a family of gods, and a great war was looming…more to my world, more to my message, then I imagined."_

"_He explained that there was other gifted people like me, who saw beyond what they were meant to be. Then spoke to me about the war, as I had wondered. He said of three major sides to it. One, the Oni, the other, the Terran Empire, and finally, the force in the shadows, the Enclave."_

"_I told him of the Enclave on my world, what was once believed to be from the old world…a lie, as I now knew, they were outsiders, intruders. He said that this world is a location that they use often, and still do. Then I asked him about Courier Six. Something in my mind told me that there was more to him then that corpse, more to the name he carried. Richard Wily."_

"_I was right. Q said that on certain worlds, there are other versions of people, versions that exist, that lived out their roles on each world. Out there, three people were seen as the true versions, out of all their copies that existed…The Three Game Masters. One of them was called, Richard Wily. A Richard Wily existed, known as a Game Master…The courier, in another form, was alive…"_

"_My message could still be given to him. I told Q I needed to find him, but Q said I should think about what I'm doing first, think it over. The Richard Wily I knew, is not the same as the Richard Wily who was living a different life. I told Q I must give him the message, he told me I should seek out others, who were in the same boat as I am, and if I truly wished to go along with my mission, I would need more then missiles…and technology of the Enclave, may hold the answer to that."_

"_By seeking out others, I would know more of the Multiverse, learn the effects of this 'Corruption' that exists. Admittedly, I was curious of it. Q agreed to allow me first, to gain information of any locations of the Enclave on my world, any technology they could have…but looking on my world, could take years…whereas going to where they truly exist, would be much, much easier."_

"_I now journeyed to Universe 20, the home of the Terran Empire. The world I'm on, is Gaia VIII. Several miles from a fortress called Balamb Garden. Around it was a metropolis…and with it, hidden in the city, were the rebellion force against the Empire, who needed information on the Enclave as much as I did."_

"_The Brotherhood of Steel."_

* * *

Ulysses was seen with Raymond Sullivan, and another Brotherhood member, hiding behind a wall of an apartment building that was about 100 feet tall. They were in a back alley, keeping low and waiting, as beyond where they were, down the pathway out, was one of the major roads of the metropolis, and going past on it now and then, was an armoured black transport troop carrier, with the logo of the Terran Empire on it's sides. It was night time, with dark clouds covering the sky.

They had alerted the Empire when they killed several Terran Empire troopers who just so happened to spot them as they went looking for information in one of the abandoned buildings of this giant city, which was rumoured to have information of the Enclave by inside informants for the Brotherhood. Turned out to be wrong, as they learnt, and now they have to get by new additional troops, back to the brotherhood hidden bunker, which, one of it's entrances, was a good two miles away.

The third person that was with them was called Chuck Greene. Wearing the same armour as Sullivan, including the helmet. If it was off, it could be seen that he had short, ragged blonde hair brushed back, green eyes, looking like he was in his late 20's, and stubble on his chin. He was carrying an energy rifle, holding it, as he waited with the others.

Ulysses was just leaning on the wall, arms crossed. They were waiting for a call from the bunker to let them know it was clear for them to get across the road to get moving to the entrance without being seen. Sullivan was getting impatient. "Damn Empire, they're sending out more reinforcements then what they would normally do."

Chuck was heard sighing. "Figures…knowing our luck there was something on that computer and Ulysses missed it."

"There was nothing but the history of the Empire on it. The 'bypass' to the information of the Enclave that was supposed to be on the machine was wrong." Ulysses answered with.

"Just like several we tried before you came along…our luck just doesn't change." Chuck mumbled, loud enough for Ulysses and Sullivan to hear.

Then, a voice could be heard on a small, brown transceiver device on the waist of Sullivan's Power Armour. An old man's voice. "Elijah to Sullivan. Come in Sullivan."

Sullivan quickly got the device from his waist. "Sullivan here. The radars giving us the all clear?"

"Yes, it appears there shouldn't be any trouble for you three for the rest of the trip back to the bunker. And I have good news. Frank West reported in. His got information."

"On the Enclave?"

"Yes. Large amounts too. Let's just hope it's useable to us. Come and see me as soon as possible when you get back, all of you. Elijah out."

It took them a good hour or so to pass through the streets and roads, which were void of life. People hardly live in the Metropolis anymore. It's hotspot location for raids by the Brotherhood of Steel has caused the civilians of the city to be located elsewhere.

Soon they made it to the entrance of the bunker, hidden inside an abandoned building, in it's cellar, two armoured plated steel doors, which slowly opened the moment Chuck closed the cellar hatch leading back up to the building.

They entered the bunker, which was a maze of corridors, connected to several locations throughout the metropolis, a whole underground base, that the Terran Empire have yet to find. Most of it was lit up by ceiling yellow lights, the doors opened automatically as people got close, the flooring was pure steel, as were the walls. There was training locations, medical bays, the lot. It was a major brotherhood location, especially due to one major thing they had.

A portal device. Designed mostly to transport people to other worlds in this Universe, it could be used to send people to others, through it being used for that hasn't happened so far, since the Brotherhoods war had been mostly in this Universe alone.

Sullivan had led Chuck and Ulysses to the main point of the location, the central command room. It was a dome shaped location, on a wall nearby as they entered, was a huge orange digital map of the city from a bird's eye point of view, the room was dimly lit by neon blue lights, and at the center of it, was a steel table, that had a screen covering the top if it, displaying a map of the Universe, that reflected on the ceiling, showing the Empire's main army locations, their gateways to other Universes and so on.

In the room were 5 Brotherhood members, waiting for the three as they entered. Two of them in Brotherhood Armour, two were wearing dark red robes, with the logo of the brotherhood on the right side of the chest, and one was wearing a Black jacket, white shirt with a few buttons undone at the top, black trousers and shoes, and finally, a slim pair of sunglasses, which he removed when the others arrived.

With short black hair with a grizzled look to it, and brown eyes, this, was Frank West. He pulled out of his pocket, a CD, that reflected a little in the lighting. "So, I, by myself, got a large chunk of data while you three were out on a stroll across the city? Good job."

In one of the power armours, was William Overbeck, wearing a green berate instead of a helmet, and with a cigarette in his mouth. The other person in power armour, which unlike others, had several silver and gold medals attached to one side of the torso, and red silken cloth over the shoulder pads, was a much, much older Zack Fair, carrying the Buster Sword on his back. He heard a full grown grey beard on him, and his hair had turned dark grey over time. Now in his 50's, he had become one of the highest ranking commanders in the Brotherhood.

After his world was helped by Shinn, He continued the resistance of the Brotherhood of Steel against the Empire there for 20 years, eventually driving them off the planet altogether, gaining a major victory…one that didn't last.

Gaia VII was nuked into a barren, scarred world for falling to the Brotherhood. Many of them managed to escape the fallout, like Zack, but those that joined neither them or the Empire, perished, including Zack's wife Aerith, and his friends Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart.

That made him a more bitter person.

The two in the robes, were the rather young looking, around his 30's, with light grey medium hair was Nolan McNamara, the leader or 'Elder' as their known as in the Brotherhood, of this Bunker network, and a much older, wrinkled, full grown beard and long white hair Elijah Holmes, who was a top scientist, and once an Elder to several bases of the Brotherhood, a title he lost due to over 15 terrible defeats caused by him in direct combat against the Empire, ill planned and prepared, they lost a lot of good men.

Chuck removed his helmet, looking annoyed at Frank. "Don't go bragging just because you got lucky. We were in a more dangerous location. Sector 12 is relatively empty."

Frank shrugged. "Still got it. You got chased around for nothing."

As for Sullivan, he was temporarily distracted, as he looked right at William, also known to those around him as Bill. "…Overbeck."

Bill just answered flatly. "Sullivan."

Sullivan slowly walked forward, walking up towards Bill, soon, standing toe to toe with him. "So, decided to visit again have you?"

"I brought, reinforcements Raymond. Your numbers are a little low and Zack here called me to bring help."

Sullivan glared at him slightly, shaking his head. "Listen, we can handle this without your help. The Empire doesn't know where we're hiding, and now we got some information, we might be able to find something useful to tackle them."

"You mean some type of deadly weapon or tech that can harm us and them? I haven't forgotten the last time we got something like that from the Terran Empire…Phazon nukes, a whole stack of them, and what did you and Elijah here do? Blow'em apart on a heavily populated planet, killing more innocents then Empire soldiers!"

Sullivan's voice was getting louder. "Acceptable losses Overbeck! Those people stood by and allowed the Empire to just continue! It made the Empire see we had the strength to fight didn't it?"

Bill was following suit. "You can't be serious! You can't just waste human life just because they want to go about their normal business! You're no better then the Empire!"

Frank West was enjoying this, standing there and smirking. "Oh boy, the old folks are riling up again. Hope it breaks out into a fight, been months since I've seen these two go at each other's necks."

Unfortunately for him, Zack interrupted them, as he noticed Elijah was thinking about joining in after his name was mentioned. "Alright that's enough! Both of you stand down and lets get down to business!"

Bill and Raymond just glared darkly at each other, but they did as Zack said, both stepping away from one another, Sullivan apologised to Zack, while Bill simply grunted, and walked over to where Zack and McNamara were. Zack then turned his attention to Frank. "Bring the disk over and let's see what we got. Everyone gather round."

They all did so, as Frank walked over with the disk, and inserted it into a driver on the machine table. It was heard making a whirring sound. Frank spoke as it was going. "I've managed to file through most of the data I fished out of the computer. All written files are on the disk if you need to check 'em Zack, just thought you'd want to see the interesting locations the Enclave have set themselves up on. Got mapping data."

The map of the Universe was overlapped with several pointers suddenly, showing that those worlds had Enclave bases. One of them was on Gaia VIII, another on Gaia VII, one on Earth X, and others…it showed several pointers at the edge of the map.

Zack pressed a few buttons on the table, making the machine show the locations of these places off their map. A Couple of them showed up to be in Universe 10. One base was within the Outer Rim, and another, on the planet known as Beyondard. Chuck was quite surprised. "Huh, they really got themselves spread out haven't they?"

Zack was concerned. "More so then we thought…those places aren't ones controlled by the Terran Empire, meaning this, Enclave, is going by it's own rules and mission. See…" He pressed a few buttons again, showing a different part of that Universe, where it showed 5 systems being under the direct control of the Empire, on the border of the United Federation of Planets. "It's too far away to give any real support to that version of Beyondard, and the Empire is currently in a locked war with that version of Starfleet."

"We've always suspected the Enclave were doing things by themselves, but not this large of an operation, Multiverse wise…" McNamara said, looking at the map.

Then the map changed, from Universe 10, to 8, pointing out locations across the map that were held by the Terran Empire, and some by the Enclave. Sullivan looked at it all carefully. "Seems like this is where the Empire and Enclave have been building their strength at besides Universe 10."

Frank then added. "And they've been doing this for awhile. Gentlemen, if you care to look…" he kindly motioned Zack to stand aside, then made the map zoom in on one world, which once it had, pointed out several locations on it, belonging to the Enclave solely. "They first had over 15 major locations on this planet. Their all mostly experimental or armoury bases. Four of them have been lost so far according to the recent data, but the rest are still present. The planet, under our mapping, is 8U-Faura II. To them it's codenamed Fallout, it's a world torn to shit by a nuclear war. Perfect location to hide bases since most of the population is struggling or dead, and the Galactic Federation, the force of that Universe, seems to ignore the planet due to it's high radiation dangers."

Ulysses spoke. "My world."

There was silence for a while, then Elijah spoke up. "This is where you came from Ulysses?"

Ulysses nodded. "Yes. I come from the Divide. Which, as I can see, has an Enclave Base." He looked at the world map carefully. "Infact, there seems to be Seven Enclave locations around that part of the world."

He pointed out what landscape, and the map zoomed in on that part of the world, their version of America. "The Capital Wasteland…it holds two bases. And the Mojave, holds five."

The map showed the locations names as well. In the Capital Wasteland it was Raven's Rock and Air Force One. In the Mojave, one was the Sierra Madre, which was abandoned due to toxic levels of an unknown substance, another was Big Mountain, contact had been lost with that one, one was in New Vegas, simply known as 38. No other information was added, and the last two, were in the Divide. One was known as the Temple Nova, which Ulysses knew.

That was the place he made as his home. According to the mapping, all of the Divide was that base, underground mostly, now destroyed by an incident, as Ulysses knew…and what the Enclave knew, as the map had details on each location. The other location in the Divide, far, far deeper into it then Ulysses has been, was known as Temple Genosha…and according to the map, it was still intact.

"Can you bring up the proper details all seven locations?" Ulysses asked.

Frank nodded, and did so. The seven locations were listed, along with what they were used for…well all but 38, which was classed as unknown and that was it.

The Sierra Madre, that was under the leadership of a man called Frederick Sinclair, was being used to create new, effective biological weapons, a way to form near infinite ammunition and food supplies from other materials, such as coins and clothing, and holograms that could attack and kill without needing an actual body structure or mainframe, using energy from sensory nodes. One biological weapon experiment caused a poisonous cloud to go out of control and sweep the area, making the scientists abandon it to avoid being found out, as soon enough, it was reported that outsiders, the locals, quickly gathered to see what was there.

Big Mountain was under the group of scientists, and it was being used for creature experiments, cyborg upgrading and improvements, holographic experiments like the Madre, and reanimation of corpses, how to make use of the dead…the place had gone quiet for 56 years now according to the Enclave. It was after one of the scientists reported that the others were getting out of control and had to be 'fixed'.

Air Force One was one of their gateway locations, aka, a portal into this Universe. It was a military location, where they had, according to the data, at least 8000 Enclave soldiers on hand there. It also housed a major communication array to keep an eye out on what goes on in most of the Universe, and recently, they've deployed a nuclear platform into orbit of this world, should they need it. It's planned for an additional seven more to be made, and deployed much, much further.

Raven's Rock caught their interest the most. It was assigned as a Fortress and simply said that it was one of the prime locations for the 'President'.

Chuck made the first question about that. "President? Do we even have such a thing in the Empire? I thought the Enclave were strongly tied to the Terran and were under the leadership of the Emperor or Empress during their reigns?"

McNamara put one of his hands on his chin, thinking. "Hmm, it would seem the Enclave have their own leadership, compared to what we previously thought, meaning that they might be doing things the Terran Empire have a lack of knowledge of."

Elijah then spoke up. "Which means they might have technology the Empire isn't using. If we could acquire that technology, we might have a chance of taking down the Empire and restoring peace."

Ulysses chuckled slightly, and quietly said to himself. "No better then the Empire…"

Temple Nova had been abandoned for 78 years, it had missiles and nuclear warheads stocked up, the stockpile of warheads and missiles were meant to be transferred to the more advanced Genosha, as they were getting worried that the local population would eventually figure out how to get inside Temple Nova. It's been confirmed by Enclave reports that there was an unexpected detonator sequence activated about 2 years ago, destroying the land of the Divide as 70% of the warheads and missiles detonated pre-maturely, taking out most of the Temple, and killing the local population.

Temple Genosha, was the next step up from Nova. It had far more advanced capabilities, designed to fire cloaked nuclear bombs beyond the Fallout world, to other worlds across that verse, without the need of a detectable orbital platform. Surprise attack any world, before it even knew what hit them or where it came from. It also had Experiments going on, and was the storage area for missiles, since the destruction of Temple Nova. Genosha was hidden deeper in the earth, and avoided any damage from the incident that took out the Divide.

This was that Ulysses wanted. A way to remake his message to the Gamemaster, to the one who carried the name of the Courier. For it to be this close to home, the gods were on his side. "I wish to download the mapping of the Divide and the location of Temple Genosha."

Frank looked at him oddly. "Download it huh? To what? That thing on your wrist?"

Ulysses simply nodded. Frank did as Ulysses asked, and managed to make a wireless connection to the Pip-Boy giving it to the mapping information of where Genosha was. The moment the download was finished, Ulysses begun leaving the room. "Hey! Where do you think your going?"

Ulysses turned, and looked at them all. "I have what I wanted. You have what you wanted. I have no reason to remain here anymore. The brotherhood means nothing to me." He turned away from them again, and before they could say anything else to him, he said "Q." and in a flash of white light, he was gone.

McNamara was shocked. "What the devil just happened? Where did he go?"

Zack had really, hardly noticed, looking at the information still instead of worrying over Ulysses. "It doesn't matter. We need to find out about this president of the Enclave. Raven Rock is a no go due to being a fortress. I don't want to send a whole army to try and just get in. But, this place called 38, that might have something."

Elijah spoke up. "With your permission Zack, I would like to look into Big Mountain and the Sierra Madre. There might be useful tech there to us."

"Permission granted. Take whatever men you need if you plan to go there."

"Thank you. Sullivan, I want you to come with me." With that, him and Sullivan left the meeting room.

Bill looked disgruntled. "Goddamnit Zack, You know those two aren't a good mix together. They'll send people to their deaths."

Zack crossed his arms, not even looking at the old veteran. "Bill, you have guard duties to perform here. I want you and the team you brought to stand guard of the bunker for several weeks, then return to your duty back at Beyondard. Is that understood?"

Bill knew that was the hint to leave, which he did so.

"Now, about this 38 location…" Chuck begun with.

Frank quickly interrupted. "Hey, I'll go check it out alright? Sounds pretty interesting, and it's in a place called New Vegas, can't be that bad to chill out at for a few weeks."

McNamara scolded him slightly. "Frank, this isn't a vacation. It's a mission. You need to find out what this 38 is."

"Ah relax, I'll get the job done, with a little fun on the side is all. You can't just be serious all the time, and anyway, me, by myself, is gonna be better then a whole squad. Don't wanna attract any attention do we? And, to top it off, I'm pretty much wearing civilian clothes already to blend in, so I'm prepared for the job."

"Alright then. Frank, it's your mission. Get to the gateway and get it done. I want all the information you get possibly get." Zack answered with.

"Kick ass!"

Several corridors away, were Elijah and Sullivan. Elijah wanted to get away from the others before discussing with Sullivan about the idea of going after those two Enclave locations. "It's important that we get that technology, no matter what. There's hope for the Brotherhood. We're that hope."

Sullivan was in agreement. "If we can get Big mountain and the Madre under our control, it'll mean we've get an upper hand in technology. Especially the Madre, food and ammo from simple materials? Holograms that are almost immortal? It'll turn the tide against the Empire. No matter how much it costs us to reach that stuff, we gotta go for it."

"No matter what. This is our chance. The Madre, Big Mountain, they're our chance to begin again. Show Zack, McNamara, all of them, that we'll do the right thing. We'll save the Brotherhood, and destroy the Empire."

* * *

It was back within the Missile Silo now, aka, what was what remains of Temple Nova. Q was see laying back on a few of the metal steps leading up to one of the missiles stationed here still, as Ulysses told him about Genosha and it's whereabouts.

"Deep into the Divide huh? As in deeper then what anyone has covered since the incident years ago?" Q questioned, as he suddenly made an red apple appear in one of his hands, chomping on it.

"You should know. You're an angel." Ulysses answered with, walking closer to where Q was, walking up the steps a little, then sitting down on one.

"If corruption should've shown you one thing, it's that angels aren't as almighty and seeing as what's led to believe…much like the state father's in today." He took another bite, and continued, with a mouth full. "I haven't got a clue with the Divideth beyond your temple herem, much like wou. And to be hownest, I think it's to do moare with the placew then our powers." afterwards he swallowed what was in his mouth. "Sorry about that."

Ulysses looked at him carefully. "The place? What do you mean?"

"Something's in the Divide Ulysses. Beyond your temple. Something that's been affected by corruption, much like you, but much, much larger. Even as we speak, I'm trying to sense ahead, to feel the world around me. That Divide, is like a black spot, like that part of the world doesn't exist in my mind's eye. Corruption can do this. The Negative Multiverse is proof of that. When I visit it, I can't sense beyond my own two eyes and ears, and my power slowly weakens and fades, much like it'll do when we go into the depths of the Divide I suspect."

"Then we should depart soon."

"Excuse me?" Q was about to take another bite, but stopped and looked at Ulysses surprised. "I don't think us two will be enough. Let's face it your good, but I don't think you'll make it, and myself? Well, once my powers are drained off I'm not much good to anyone."

"What do you propose then, Angel?"

"I think, we need others to help you across this Divide. I think we'll see what damage Corruption can do while we go across it, what it really is in ways we've yet to see, and there are some out there who really want to learn more about it. It's a golden opportunity for them, and us. A little get together, to go on a trek across…well, hell, really."

Ulysses chuckled darkly. "You mean go and see the others, just like you wanted me to do in the first place?"

"That's the one, before you rudely said that you wanted to get information on the technology first. You got what you wanted, now play nice and do what I wanted."

Ulysses seemingly glared at Q, who just shrugged it off and went back to his apple. "So, I take it you will send me to these people that may teach me, other views, and perhaps, be persuaded to help? And I just have to do like before, say your name and I can return?"

Q turned his head to Ulysses, nodded. " If someone wants to come, make sure they stand close to you, I'll pick them up. There's about 9 of them I think you should try. The first one you should go and speak to is one recently effected. Terra Branford. Don't keep her waiting." Then went back to his apple.

Ulysses waited for a moment. "Then perhaps you can send me now-" Q clicked his fingers, and Ulysses vanished.

Q then stopped munching for a moment, as if realizing something. "…Did I forget to tell him that some may require him to go back and forward in time?…oh well." he just went back to his apple after a moment.

* * *

Terra sat there, within the orphanage of Mobliz, looking out one of it's remaining few windows to the now clear sky and land, the fog that once plagued it, gone. The kids were outside, quite happy, not fully realizing what had been going on lately. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the sunlight cover her face and hair, breathing in deeply, to relax. The place was a mess still, but, it was going to be fixed over time.

She thought she heard footsteps leading up to the home, but ignored it for the time being. Then heard knocking. She stood up, as she heard the footsteps of Duane head for the door. "It's okay, I'll get it." She spoke out, before heading to the wooden front door and opening it, suddenly shocked at the figure standing there.

It was Ulysses. His appearance, his clothing, the mask, was all slightly unnerving, and his way of looking down at her, as she was slightly smaller then him. And his voice. "Terra Branford?"

"…Yes?"

Ulysses crossed his arms. He wanted to just ask her and get it over with, but he couldn't be an asshole about it. "May we talk? Inside your home?"

"M-may I ask what your name is, and what you need to talk to me about?"

"My name is Ulysses. And I need to talk to you, about Corruption."

It was a good 20 minutes later.

Ulysses and Terra were in the living room, alone. He was sitting in one chair, as she was sitting in another. He had asked her when her mind opened to it, and she explained what had happened, and who she met. Two, of the Game Masters. Neither though, were the one he wants.

He then explained where he came from. And told her of what he was here for, to understand how she felt about what the corruption had done to her.

Terra was honest. "It's been…very hard since my mind, opened up to the truth. Sometimes I hear a few whispers in my head when I'm awake, and at night, I've had nightmares.."

"Of fire, and machines no doubt."

Terra looked at him, slightly surprised. "You, had them too?"

He nodded. "It seems we're both on a familiar road then. Except, you were lucky. When I suffered the dreams and whispers, my mind lost it's sanity."

"I'm, sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. An angel of Azrael managed to help me regain my sanity. And now I plan to find out more about this corruption that exists…according to the angel, the road I wish to travel down is one that's dangerous, yet holds answers on what this corruption can do, what it has done."

"Answers…" Terra said softly, looking down at the floor for a little while. She had questions herself about corruption…the Game Masters, why it suddenly tore into her mind, and is this all, just, false? Is all of it just a fantasy? No…that question…She looked to Ulysses, looked into his eyes, the hint of a green glow within them. He was real, and so was she, and all the kids she cared for…

Ulysses soon turned his head, looking at her. "You sound like you require some of your own."

Terra slowly nodded. "Yes, I, I have questions about what's been happening."

"I can't answer them, as you can't yourself." Ulysses stood up. "Thank you for your time Terra. I understand now that others have heard the whispers and had the dreams like myself, and to your view, the, Game Masters you met are kind…it's a shame that neither are the one I wished to have known about."

He proceeded to head towards the door. Terra quickly got to her feet. "Wait!" Ulysses stopped, not looking back at her, and waited. "You said you were going to travel a place that might hold the answers, right?"

Ulysses answered her. "The road I'll walk, is dangerous, as I said."

"That doesn't matter. Please, just let me come with you. I need answers too, no matter how dangerous this 'Road' is. Ulysses, I can't just watch you go and be left to think alone again like I have been, to think and never know."

Ulysses looked at her, from the corner of his eyes. "If you truly wish to follow, then stand close to me."

Terra didn't think. She didn't want to, to have worries about this place, and if everyone will be alright without her, she just wanted to know. She walked over to him, standing close, as he said the letter 'Q', in a flash of light, both her and Ulysses were back in the Temple Nova.

Terra was shocked, quickly looking around, and spotted Q sitting at the metal steps instead of laying around, reading a red book, he looked up, seeing Ulysses, then Terra. "Oh well I see you managed to get her to come with you. Welcome Terra. I'm Q." he quickly walked over to where she was, making the book he was reading, seemingly vanish, and put his hand out to shake, which she did so, very cautiously. "You can relax you know. I'm an angel of god."

That wasn't the most assuring thing he could've said, but she still muttered a 'thank you', before he stopped shaking her hand, and looked at Ulysses. "Now I'll take care of her, and you, need to go and find a Spiky blond haired guy named Cloud Strife and his enemy Sephiroth…if the latter isn't anywhere near the former, come back and I'll send you to him." click of his fingers, and Ulysses was gone.

Terra didn't have time to think, as Q suddenly clicked his fingers again, and nearby, a huge, long wooden dining table appeared, with a dozen chairs around it, plates on the table, with cutlery, and fresh cooked food such as chicken, beef, vegetables and fresh fruit were all at the ready on silver platters and bowls. "If you so wish you can enjoy a snack while waiting, he won't be long."

Terra was hoping he was right.

* * *

On the world of Final Fantasy VII, it had become a bit more calm…for some.

Cloud was sitting in the bar called 7Th Heaven, in the city called Edge, bordering, quite literally, the ruined town of Midgar.

The bar was quiet, as his companions had returned to their homes, leaving him, Tifa, Denzel, Marlene and Shelke. It was about midday now on their region. Tifa was seen behind the bar, cleaning a few of the glasses, looking a Cloud now and then, as he sat there silently, looking at his small, empty glass.

His whole world in his mind was now more distorted then before. This whole corruption, what's fed into his mind. He didn't want to think about it. It was horrible to him. A nightmare that won't go away. But he knew he had to just move on in time, not let it plague him like Sephiroth had, as Tifa has been reminding him for the past few days.

Sephiroth…he was gone now, one major thing that was lifted off Cloud's shoulders, but in it's place, this…curse has landed on him.

He heard entrance door open. He heard Tifa welcome the customer, and said he could sit where he liked. With the sounds of heavy footsteps, from boots being worn by a man that was weighed down by something, He did so.

Right next to Cloud.

Tifa stepped over to the customer. Cloud didn't bother looking up. "So, what will it be?"

"Whisky." The customer answered, before Tifa was heard moving away to get him a shot of the stuff. "Cloud Strife, I presume?"

Cloud looked up from his glass, and turned his head to look at the person who knew his name. Ulysses.

Ulysses was just looking ahead, as if staring at the bottles of drink over the bar. "Corruption has got inside of you, hasn't it? You've seen the road."

Cloud was silent for a moment, then asked "Who are you?"

"Call me Ulysses. I'm a traveller on the road, like you. A person who didn't want to know, who just so happened to gain the knowledge."

Tifa had returned now, and noticed Cloud's attention had been caught by the stranger.

"Why have you come here?" Cloud wasn't happy about this guy appearing.

"To see what it has meant for you…and you don't even need to speak to me for me to see what it is. It haunts you, defeats you, makes you wonder about everything."

"That's my problem." Cloud answered flatly, looking at his glass again, as Tifa slowly put down the whisky for Ulysses, looking concerned.

"Doesn't have to be just yours. I plan to look further down this road. See what it's done, what it's doing to our Multiverse."

"Then you'll have to go without me." Cloud looked slightly towards Ulysses. "I don't want to think about this…thing, anymore. I don't want to look into it further. What you call the road, I call a nightmare, one I'll sort out in my own mind in time."

Ulysses could see into the eyes of this man, and knew he wouldn't change his stance on this. Something had badly happened to him that made it that little more worse then what Ulysses had gone through, that much this wastelander could tell.

"Very well. Then I wish to speak to the other that knows of this road. Do you know him?"

Cloud was silent, waiting for a name, already in his head, guessing what it was, and knew the answer he would instantly give.

"The man they call Sephiroth?"

Cloud automatically replied, quickly turning his head back down to his glass "His dead. That's all I'm going to say about him. If your interested in his life story, look for the town called Nibelheim, the mansion there has what he was, recorded in the books." Tifa had a feeling he needed another drink, walking over to a bottle of brandy for him.

Ulysses knew this was the end of the conversation with this person. "I will.". He stood up, and begun walking out, never having touched his drink. "Oh." he put his hand in his duster, and pulled out a worn down little brown pouch, which jingled, before throwing it over to the bar counter. "For the drink."

He departed, leaving Tifa and Cloud alone again. Tifa had just refilled Cloud's glass, after watching Ulysses leave. "Cloud? Is everything alright?"

Cloud nodded, sipping his drink. "It will be Tifa. I just need time."

That was good enough for her. She then checked the small brown bag, knowing it was money, and, was rather surprised at what she found in there instead of Gil. It was bottlecaps, some of a logo called 'Nuka-Cola' on, some with 'Sunset Sarsaparilla' instead. She picked one of the caps up, looking at it weirdly. "Bottlecaps?"

Cloud answered her confusing look on the small metal pieces. "He was an off-worlder."

* * *

Ulysses meanwhile, had got himself sent back to his world by Q, and informed him of the grave news of Sephiroth. Q chuckled and had said "Oh don't listen to the spiky haired brat, his always wanted that guy dead. I'll send you to him."

The long haired warrior was indeed alive. And had killed, another long haired warrior.

Sephiroth, in his black attire, was on the world called Radiant Garden, once called Hollow Bastion. He stood at a cliff, which overlooked a place called Villain's Vale, opposite to Hollow Bastion. The sun was seen slowly setting.

Before him, just dropping another version of the Masamune, was another Sephiroth. This World's version of him. He had found the blade of his counterpart stabbed right through his throat, blood dribbling from his mouth, and oozing away from the neck wound, down the sword of the FFVII's version of him. He weakly grabbed the blade with one hand, as his life was fading fast before him, trying to just force the weapon out.

He had been wounded in several spots. The surprise attack from this other Sephiroth allowed him to suffer gashes on his arm, torso, and even a cut on the forehead, along with some hair around there missing, as he had just about stopped the sword from getting any closer…sadly, he was still outmatched by this other him, and now found himself about to touch death's doormat.

He couldn't ask why this other him done this, why did he attack, why, why before he had a chance to finally settle things with his version of Cloud…

Slowly, he felt his energy, his life, being drained out of him, he weakly saw that there was, from his wound, a wave of green and black energy intertwined, flowing slowly down the length of his counterpart's blade, into that said counterpart, and around him, a dark green aura appeared, as the energy fed into him, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the moment.

The Sephiroth of Hollow Bastion, as the last of his energy was taken, died on the blade, his body gone limp. Sephiroth slowly withdrew his sword from the neck, and watched as the body hit the floor, lifeless, several black feathers from his wing floated down with him. The dark aura around the victorious counterpart faded, as the last bit of energy from his dead other self was inside him.

Sephiroth then looked to his Masamune, and within a flash of green fire covered the steel briefly, the blood of his fallen foe was cleaned off, burnt away.

That's when he decided to speak, to another thing, that caught his attention as he was draining the energy. A presence suddenly appearing nearby behind him. "Hmph. I can tell you're not from this world, or my own. So I'll ask you this; Why have you come to me?"

Ulysses stood there, his staff weapon in one hand, looking at Sephiroth. "You could already tell without even looking. Impressive. I'm Ulysses. I've come to speak to you and understand your view of the road."

Sephiroth slowly turned around, holding his Masamune. "The road?" Sephiroth went quiet, then chuckled dryly. "You mean Corruption. The very thing that awoke me to the reality of it all, to the fact there is more then just one of me, other versions, and awoke me to the truth about this Universe, known as Universe 8…and the Multiverse."

"You're quite aware then."

"Very." Sephiroth briefly looked back to his dead counterpart.

"Then I wish to offer you more insight into the road. Where it might lead, the damage it has caused."

Sephiroth slowly shook his head, smirking a little at Ulysses. "You have yet to prove yourself. You can't just throw out invitations, without showing yourself, that you understand the 'road'."

"I came to seek the views of others to broaden my understanding of it, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth then, got into his battle stance, holding the hilt of his long steel blade with both sides, to one side, holding it just above his shoulder level. "Have you ever heard the expression of 'actions, speak louder then words'?"

Ulysses put his other hand on his staff, and leaned it back, the bottom of it coming off the ground, before running forward.

Sephiroth waited patiently, ready to just knock aside this outsider, when suddenly he saw a very, very brief flicker of green light from the wrist device on Ulysses, and before he knew it, Ulysses was right in front of him, lightning speed, and swung the staff twice, horizontally, a move Sephiroth was just barely able to block with his blade, then straight down, making Sephiroth step back, just missing the sharp eagle embodiment at the top of the weapon, which scraped the ground a little, before Ulysses lifted it back up.

Sephiroth smiled slightly, as Ulysses dashed forward, and this time, seemed to be at a more…normal pace. Granted he was still swinging fast, but Sephiroth was easily able to block and dodge every attack without any shocks. He lept sidewards, backwards, blocked and parried, waiting for it, to occur again.

And Ulysses did not disappoint him. Once again, in mere mili-seconds, the flash of green, and this time, several rapid attacks with the staff occurred. nearly all of them were stopped by Sephiroth, little sparks and the sound of metal clashing being heard each time, but one was a little close, as it was to the side of Sephiroth, as Ulysses had stepped to the right side, and swung the staff to strike the black caped man in the stomach. Sephiroth had no choice but to just unfold his wing and take to the sky briefly, leaving a few black feathers for the staff to swing by, blowing them away.

Ulysses wasn't expected that move, as he shot his head up, looking at the man above.

Sephiroth smirked, floating there several feet up. "Interesting. That thing on your wrist allows you to strike at a blink of an eye. Come Ulysses, fight me a little more."

The wastelander responded by flinging the staff on his back, and pulling out his 12mm submachine gun, unleashing a spray of bullets towards Sephiroth, who, quite simply, lazily flew back and to the sides, messing with Ulysses a little, before landing on the ground, as the gun was heard clicking, meaning it needed to reload.

Ulysses done that…with the power of the pip-boy it was done in moments, and the bullets were fired off again, much much more rapid and numerous, wasting the whole fresh magazine in a mere few seconds. The one winged angel had just used his wing to take the bullets, as they were seen hitting it, making feathers fly off, damaged, but no actual sign of the wing itself deteriorating, and, as Sephiroth showed once his moved his wing back, nothing got through.

He found himself using the Masamune once again, as Ulysses triggered that pip-boy to barrage Sephiroth with both his Staff, and his Bowie knife, swing one then the other. The staff, simple to deflect, the knife made Sephiroth move back, and even take a few swings in return at Ulysses, who easily moved around the sword's movement, to Sephiroth, a momentary blur, and tried to stab Sephiroth again.

Sephiroth then felt it…a hit. The Knife had momentarily stabbed into his left side of his chest. Then out, leaving a deep wound, and a little blood leaking out, the stabbing perfectly avoiding the two leather straps. Sephiroth jumped back, and lowered his sword, looking at the wound. Ulysses, watching Sephiroth, put away his blooded knife, dripping a few bloods of the man's blood, but held onto his staff.

Sephiroth eyes showed that he was impressed, the wound slowly healing up by itself, as he then focused on the man before him. "Well done. Few can manage to strike me, fewer live to tell others of their feat. This marks the end of our little clash."

Ulysses put the staff on his back once more. "Then what do you make of my actions?"

"You're able and capable, but behind that mask you wear, inside the skin where that wrist device of yours is, is intense anger. Not aimed at me, but for someone else…you don't understand the road fully, much like I don't."

"Then will you follow me?"

Sephiroth shook his head, turning his back to Ulysses. "No. I must complete my own mission, my own goal first. There are other versions of myself in this Universe. I intend to find them all, and kill them. Perhaps once that is over, I will follow you on this path."

Ulysses had a feeling Sephiroth had set his own path on this twisting road. "When you are ready, simply speak the letter Q, and I'll inform the man that will aid us on this road, to bring you to my world, my temple."

"….I will." Was all Sephiroth said. He begun walking off, leaving Ulysses behind, who spoke of that letter, and within a white flash, he was gone.

It had been some time since their encounter.

Sephiroth had found himself with two swords sticking into his chest, on the desert planet known as Rosa.

The sword owners were Game Master Chad, and Game Master Blue. Sephiroth had only just slain the last alternate version of him, and what he wanted had worked. Killing other versions had gave him more and more power then he had before. He was, in his mind, certain that boys like these were no match for him.

But it was his mind that partly gave to his downfall. Seeing the Game Masters here reminded him of Corruption, and of the road…which lead to him remembering Ulysses and the invitation. The rest of the downfall came from the fact he was fighting numerous people with different levels of power all in one go, and overconfidence once he had beaten back the Gamemasters a little.

He stepped back, their blades stabbed into his torso sliding out, smirking at the Game Masters and saying "Impressive." before he healed himself from the injuries, and even his clothing, slightly scorched and cut, was repaired.

Chad's and Blue's face showed horror at this ability, worrying that he'll continue the fight.

But that feeling he had to go came to him, that remembrance of the invitation was bugging him. His blade, on the floor, was summoned back to his hand, and vanished in a burst of green flames. Both Chad and Blue stayed ready, unsure of what Sephiroth's game was.

He turned his back to the Game Masters, and then glanced behind to them. "You can both live a little longer. I'm, interested in seeing your strength develop…But once Cloud perishes, you two and your friends are next."

He wrapped himself in his massive black wing, and closed his eyes, unsure if this 'Q' business, but tried it anyway. He muttered it silently, and within a flash of white light, obscured greatly by a large bunch of black feathers that had come off his wing, he was gone.

And when he moved his wing back, he found himself in the Temple. Looking at him in shock, was Terra, seen sitting down and starting to eat a few purple grapes. Q looked quite happy to see Sephiroth, as he sat at one end of the table. "Oh wonderful! You came! I'm Q, This is Terra and you must be the Sephiroth of Universe 8! Please! Please have a seat!"

Sephiroth did so, walking over, his one wing folding in, and sitting down, looking at the array of food and drink before him, then at Q. "Where is Ulysses?"

"Oh I sent him ahead. His got others to ask and see if they'll come you know."

Sephiroth just accepted the fact, and closed his eyes, waiting…untill Terra quietly spoke. Sephiroth's appearance wasn't exactly friendly. "So, why did you come?"

"Curiosity mostly. Ulysses sent out the invitation, and I've responded to it."

"Oh…" Terra felt Sephiroth was giving the aura of 'Leave me alone, I'm waiting and peace and quiet would be nice.'. boy, was this turning out good so far for her…

* * *

Barrel walked the streets of Traverse Town. He was given leave for a few weeks by Keaton. He was looking into buying a home here, after the suppression of Darkmega perhaps, look for an early retirement.

To him, the year was 2044 A.P. It was the middle time of Darkmega's rebellion on Earth X. He had been leading most of the assaults on Earth in order to deal with this army of heartless Darkmega has managed to gain, but so far, the attacks have all ended in stalemates. The heartless seem endless in amount.

His pal, Cid Highwind, had told him of a few new homes having gone up for sale, and were pretty cheap at the moment in the 2nd district.

What was noticeable about Barrel was the golden dog tags around his neck. One of them bore the number of 666. The other tag had his name on, his full name, along with his title, which he always used, Colonel. The number 666 was of course, the Unit number he served in, which was the same one Grievous was in command of before it was dispersed.

Barrel was noted in it for his exceptional talent, and his gift of cheating death, somehow recovering from fatal wounds quite often without medication or healing.

He had become aware of Corruption ever since the death of his two children, and the girl he loved, that gave birth to those kids. Their deaths woke him. And for a few years, he had wondered about it greatly, what it all meant to him, why did he gain that knowledge…

Nowadays, he never gave it much thought, noticing it wasn't effecting his life any.

On him, was an empty PET device holstered on his belt around his waist, and his favourite pistol, a Desert Eagle, which used normal, live ammunition instead of energy rounds. The empty PET was because his Navi and him just eventually, could not get along, and they parted ways 8 years ago. The Navi was Colonel, named after Barrel gained the rank, another member of 666 and currently an officer under Keaton's command.

Barrel stopped outside one of the houses, seeing the wooden For Sale sign hanging on the wall besides it's entrance. He looked in the windows, the lights, being left on for people outside to see, then, with a little nod of approval, decided to get the key out that Cid gave him, and go to open the door to look in properly…He stopped as he put the key in.

Someone was nearby him that wasn't there just a second ago. He quickly turned, and standing there, several feet away, looking at Barrel carefully, was Ulysses. "Colonel Barrel I presume?"

Barrel looked the man up and down, unsure what to make of this newcomer. What he mostly noticed was in the forever night of Traverse Town, the man's eyes glowed a yellowish green. "That's right. And you are…?"

"Ulysses. I've come to see you about Corruption. The road."

Barrel looked at him with a face of confusion. "The road? Is that what you call the sudden wave of, mad logic that flows into your head? Huh…preferred Cursed Wave. Well I'll make this simple to you, Ulysses. It's something that got me confused about myself and my purpose for a good while, on top of the death of my lover and kids, so it came at a bad time."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Happened years ago. But it's something that only makes me think of the bad memories now."

Ulysses folded his arms across his chest. "Perhaps you may want to explore it further. Understand why, it came to you then."

Barrel shook his head dismissively. "Nah, I'm good thanks. Now if you excuse me…" He returned to the door.

"Your children could have been the reason for it. Tell me, what were their names?"

Barrel once again, stopped. Turning back to look at Ulysses again. "…Chad and Anna. Chad was about 3 years old, Anna was 6 months."

"Chad and Anna…You know as well as I do that those names, close together, are of importance in the Multiverse. Their deaths awoke you, despite the horrible timing of it."

Barrel went silent, just watching Ulysses now.

"Perhaps the road will carry more answers, explain why your children would open your eyes to the truth of this Multiverse. There are many children simply carrying the name Chad and Anna. Why would yours be important enough, to let your mind open up?"

Barrel begun to think about this. His wonder of this cursed wave coming back after so long. His children…he lost them, then this happened, after his world was torn down around him. He looked directly at Ulysses, and nodded. "Alright you've convinced me. I'll come with you to this Road thing your talking about."

Ulysses walked over towards him. "Good." then, looked up and uttered the letter Q, and once again, Allowing Barrel to meet Sephiroth, Terra, and Q. Q introduced himself and the other two, then as Barrel sat next to Terra at the table, Ulysses disappeared in a white flash.

Barrel was mostly looking at Sephiroth. "You know, I met the Counterpart of my verse, of you, and for legendary warriors that, well in my verse famous everywhere…I gotta ask, why, do you guys make yourselves look so, well…camp?"

Sephiroth didn't answer, just giving Barrel a little glare, as Terra had to chuckle slightly.

* * *

Keaton was walking down one of the dark corridors of the Villain Alliance's base, having just concluded his meeting with Wily.

Wily and this Alliance. Something was itching him, telling him the old man had little intention, in the way of keeping the Federation a part of this. Every meeting they have, Wily always seems to be watching him carefully, questioning everything he suggests. Maybe that's just Wily, but it still made Keaton alert.

All of this, even after a year, was still rather a task to get a full grip on. From a military general of notable rank on a small planet to Galaxy sized command…at first it was easy, fine and dandy, but now as millions look to him, it's becoming harder. He wanted this though, he wanted to leave a mark, to make mankind take another step…

He noticed someone ahead, and slowed down, coming to stop, looking at the man up and down, before saying. "I don't recall seeing you around here before."

"Galactic Federation Grand Commander, Keaton Al'keriff. I am Ulysses. I'm here to speak to you about Corruption."

All Keaton could think of was a door-to-door salesman with this guy. Was he going to preach about it or something? Keaton looked into Ulysses's eyes…no, no. something told him he wasn't going to try and promote it or make him buy something. A serious look within those eyes told him the man was on a important mission.

Keaton waited, allowing Ulysses to continue.

"What do you know about it?"

Keaton sighed, thinking for a moment. "Well it exists and it's something those annoying Game Masters seem to have a moderate control over. It's been around ages, and it causes things to be known that you normally wouldn't know."

Ulysses nodded. "At least you know something of it, but there is more to it."

Keaton rubbed his forehead, looking a little annoyed, knowing what was coming. "If your going to tell me about it for the next hour or so, could we first arrange a meeting, then we can discuss when I'm not so busy."

"I'm not going to explain it." Ulysses answered.

This took Keaton back a little. "Oh. Then our business is concluded then, correct?"

Ulysses slowly shook his head. "The Road will hold the answers, more then I know, more then you know. It may show you the risks of Corruption, what it can do to your people, your forces, It may not. We will not know untill we walk it."

Keaton raised his eyebrow slightly. "The Road?"

"In the Divide, of my world. Corruption holds a great and powerful sway there. Perhaps you heard of it? Fallout?"

Keaton thought about this, trying to recall if his heard a world being called by the simple name of Fallout, then nodded, a little surprised at the fact Ulysses came from a world that was classed as dangerous and holding minimal life. "I've heard of it. An Earth-like planet, bombed itself in nuclear fire. It's seas are filled with Radiation, forever dry wastelands cover most of it, and the human population is almost wiped out, with small settlements where and there. We've steered clear of that planet because of the state it's in. The Galactic Federation know it's beyond any chance of an efficient and profitable recovery to us."

Ulysses was glad he knew of it. "It carries a powerful source of Corruption, within that source, is a base, belonging to the Enclave. I'm, sure you've heard of them, haven't you? The base is bound to carry technology, technology you can take and use for the Federation."

Keaton hadn't, actually heard of the Enclave. The way Ulysses put was that he expected a man of Keaton's position to have vast knowledge on everything. "I'm not familiar with the Enclave. But this…technology you speak of…"

"It could be anything. All I want is for you to come with me, and others, to walk the Road to it. You can see it for yourself, and then decide if you wish to extract it's technology after seeing it with your own eyes."

Keaton chuckled dryly. "You want me, to come with you? And, pray tell me now, how will you prove to me this isn't some, scheme by an opposing force that's trying to lure me into a trap?"

"They would pick a diplomatic approach, or honour you on their world, or beg you for help. I, simply offer you the chance to walk freely for a small time, and see what corruption is, and what treasures lay, at the end."

Keaton nodded in agreement. That was a good argument. He wasn't pleading, or begging. He simply was suggesting. "…Alright Ulysses. I'll come with you for, a little while. A day at the most. If we fail to get to the end of this Road of yours, then I'll return here and send a squad of men to come and assist in finding this base. That's my terms. It's up to you to agree to them."

"I Agree to the terms."

"Good. Now, how will we-"

"Q."

Flash on, flash off. Keaton suddenly saw the table of food and drink, Q in the Starfleet uniform, Barrel, who he recognized from the 8th Universe version of him, Sephiroth and Terra, within the Temple Nova. He looked around slowly, seeing Ulysses step away from him, then hearing Q get up out of his seat and start walking over. "Now this is wonderful! Welcome Grand Commander! I never thought Ulysses would manage to convince someone of your position to join us!"

Barrel stood up and saluted, as was his custom whenever his version of Keaton was present. Keaton was busy looking at the Silo, seeing the missiles around them, the state it was in…and soon diverted by Q grabbing one of his hands and shaking it. He looked annoyed, and pulled his hand away. "And, you are-"

"Q! I'm an angel of Azrael! Welcome to the fold Keaton of Universe 8!"

Barrel was now looking a little surprised it wasn't his Keaton. Keaton himself, meanwhile, tried to figure Q out, looking at his uniform carefully. "…An angel of Azrael? But your uniform..."

"It's from Starfleet, don't worry, they aren't a part of this in any way! Not like any version of Jean-Luc Picard would willingly come here…ANYWAY! Come and sit down, join the group! Ulysses, the next one is a man from Universe 10 called Toki, go and see if you can convince him too." Clicked of the fingers, and Ulysses disappeared in the same flash that brought Keaton here.

The Grand Commander walk over cautiously, and sat down near Sephiroth, as Barrel sat down at the same time. Eventually Q came over and joined them again. "So…Barrel, am I to presume you are the one from my Verse?"

Barrel shook his head. "Universe 10 Grand Commander. Under the service of another you, but regardless, it's a pleasure to meet you."

….The other him…he recognized the number…the Broken Universe Keaton…

* * *

Toki had been meditating. In his time, In the Universe 10, it was 2250A.P. The era of Chaos had long since passed, and now was the era of peace. The once Shinra Federation-turned Chaos Empire had disappeared, and in it's place was the Hero Empire, ruled currently by Sun Jian, a clone of the original Wu ruler.

In this time, Chad Malyan was regarded as a Jesus like figure, a saviour to the people. Along with his fame, followed those of the Hero faction, all those that were within the base, immortalised for simply being around Chad during the time of, and quote their current belief of it, 'A time of Chaos and Darkness, where no light seemed to shine but Chad's.'.

This belief was mostly held strong on the planet called Beyondard. For the rest of the Empire, there was books, movies, even a cartoon series about the supposed events of that time.

Toki had come to see Beyondard for himself. Not it's temples, worshipping Chad, nor it's cities…but it's fading beauty.

Beyondard, after Chad's last known great battle, had been restored with life. The world that was once a barren land, had turned into a green planet once more. But already, it was decaying and dieing, at an alarming rate.

Toki came to try and understand why. He personal thoughts are that the Lifestream of this world had suffered so much before, and was now unable to sustain such a world, but he couldn't be sure untill he had checked himself.

He sat cross legged, his arms on his legs, eyes closed, listening to the wind flow past him, the rustling of the dried, dead grass surrounding him, the few remaining trees, with their leaves brown and slowly coming off, swaying in the breeze ever so slightly. The barren land he was on was once alive no more then two years ago…now it was on the verge of turning into another patch of barren land like most of this world now.

It was night time. And above, the stars could be seen clearly, with no clouds overhead, two moons, bringing their light down to the dieing world.

Toki was a man who knew the art of Hokuto Shinken, a master of the soft fist addition of it, which allowed him to feel around him what others cannot, and tap into the greatest healing powers of it. Right now, he could feel the planet, hear it's faint, dieing cries. It was suffering greatly.

He wished he could ease it's suffering so much. To hear a planet be in pain like this…

He heard within the faint cries, footsteps in the dead grass, walking towards him. No assassin, the steps were too noisy, there was no attempts to keep the noise to a minimal, and the person was not rushing towards Toki, a casual stroll, it weight on each step confirmed to Toki it was a human…the man soon stopped behind Toki.

"Toki?"

He nodded. He didn't recognise the voice.

"I'm Ulysses. I'm come to ask you about Corruption."

Toki nodded a little. "Ah yes. That. I've always wondered when I'll meet someone else who knew it. I've known of it for 4 years, since the day I looked into the Museum of the Hero Faction, when I saw the painting of Chad…What is it you wish to know?"

Ulysses walked up to the side of Toki, and sat down on the ground near him. "I wish to know what you make of it."

Toki went quiet for a few minutes, then answered "It is the opening to the reality of this Multiverse. It's true origins and what it is now. At first I felt I was going mad, with the sudden rush of knowledge, but I soon eased my mind, and slowly put it all in place. To me, it is wisdom that is gifted to certain individuals."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. To know of the true origins is to know the Multiverse."

"And what of the effects of Corruption? What it does to our Multiverse?" Ulysses slowly turned his head to look at Toki, who opened his eyes after hearing that question.

"….That is what I do not know. Perhaps it is what is damaging this planet. Perhaps it holds the power to heal it. I'm always wishing to learn more of such a powerful force that drives our Universe and 19 others."

Ulysses was actually glad of this, compared to the last three that were aware of Corruption. "Then I'll explain my purpose here beyond the question. On my world, in Universe 8, lays the Divide, and within in it, a powerful force of corruption. The Road into that power is dangerous, and I require help to get through it. In return, we will learn more of corruption, see it's effects, what it really does."

Toki looked at Ulysses, smiling a little. "An explorer for knowledge like myself. It sounds interesting, for it may hold the answer to if it can help this planet regain it's natural beauty."

Ulysses stood back up, and Toki got up with him. "So, you will come with me?"

Toki nodded. "Of course. I'll help in anyway I possibly can. Hopefully as a member of the art of Hokuto Shinken, I'll be of some use on our journey."

Ulysses knew of Hokuto Shinken from Corruption. "No doubt it will help us. Are you ready to depart right now?"

Toki gave him an approving smile. Ulysses uttered Q, and there they both were, in the temple.

Q introduced Toki to the others and himself, with Toki just being calm and collected with the fact Q was an angel, and greeted the others before he sat down with Barrel and Terra and begun talking to them.

Q turned to Ulysses, looking slightly surprised. "I'll admit, I'm impressed. You've managed to convince 5 out of 6 so far. I betted on the likes of Sephiroth and Keaton to turn you down and berate you."

"Perhaps, you should not underestimate me and my ability to gain the trust of others." was all Ulysses answered with on that, before saying "Now who is the next one I should see?"

"The next one is a clone of Universe 10's dark version of Richard Wily. His quite broody and likes to get right to the point of matters, so don't beat around the bush with him. His name is Dark Rich."

* * *

Dark Rich.

The date, 2046A.P. His allegiance to the Galactic Federation, gone, as was the Federation itself. Now, he held allegiance to himself and only himself. A freelancer, who bore the skull and crossbones to symbolise his status as a plunderer of gold and riches, sword-for-arms and a trader.

His and his band of men's place of rest, Traverse Town, 7th heaven bar. Tifa didn't mind him and his lot hanging out, it gave her good company and common customers to talk to about how things were elsewhere.

Granted HE never talked but his 1st officer of his vessel that he uses, Kei Yuki, tells her all the updates.

Kei Yuki had also abandoned the GF, now following Dark Rich around and looking after him as much as she could. She had chosen to leave Keaton's service once it turned out he had the intention of killing her once he had Gaia VII under his control, fearing she might use her heritage as Dante Yuki's daughter to take power from him.

She didn't mind being a freelancer. It was pretty relaxing most of the time, and she didn't have to do much…more to the point Dark Rich denied her leaving the ship most of the time when it came to a job and doing it himself. His genes still demanded him to protect her strongly.

Right now, she, him and Master Eraqus, a survivor of the civil war, were all sitting down inside the bar, quietly having a drink together at one of it's round wooden tables. The others of their group, had gone to bed. Tifa was seen tending to the bar, making sure everything was looking neat and tidy.

Eraqus downed the last of his glass of whisky, putting it down after, and looking to Kei. "I'm going to call it a night. What about you two?"

Kei nodded. "Yeah, it's best we do. We have a busy day tomorrow. A quick visit to Hollow Bastion, then to meet with Chad in the afternoon as we said we would."

Dark Rich gave a grunt, crossing his arms and leaning back on his chair. "Wish we could just kill the little punk and be done with it instead of being helpful to him..."

Kei sighed. "Dark…"

"You two go on up. I'll finish up my drink first." Dark Rich then moved one hand, picked up the glass of red wine before him, and stayed leaning back on the wall near the table, looking at his glass of drink instead of Kei and Eraqus. This was his normal mood when it came to talking about Chad. The boy had been a thorn in his side, and especially more so since he found out something else about the brat.

Kei and Eraqus did so, knowing full well to just let him be. Dark Rich heard Tifa say goodnight to them, as they headed up the wooden staircase nearby, then, heard them through the ceiling go into their rooms, and finally, silence…

He liked silence alot. It gave him time to think. Think about what he knew. It was after his first encounter with Chad, defeating him with, relative ease, the boy was determined, he had to admit. It was as he had to leave, he looked to Chad once more, and something clicked in his mind. He saw Chad, then, saw a previous cycle of him, and another cycle of him, and another…they had been there before…the Corruption had entered his mind.

But his sheer will and determination stopped it from effecting him or distracting him when he had any mission or duty to perform. The next three times he and Chad had encountered, they've fought to nothing more then draws.

It was times like this he could think about this vast knowledge peacefully, without having Kei around, or the rest of the crew, to pester him.

Well, without them, but as he heard the door leading into this place open, he heard the footsteps, someone pulling up a chair opposite him, and sitting down. The blurred figure of Ulysses was seen in his wine glass as he held it. "This table is taken, idiot."

"I need to talk to you."

Dark Rich sighed, getting annoyed VERY quickly. "You got 10 seconds to explain and say your name before I beat the sorry shit outta you."

Plenty of time for Ulysses. "I'm Ulysses, and I'm here to ask about your take on Corruption."

That grabbed the attention of the clone, as he finally looked up from his glass at Ulysses. "What did you say?"

"Corruption."

"This, is, the same thing we're thinking of right? The vast knowledge, that we know other cycles occurred before and such?"

Ulysses nodded.

"Then you just got what my take on it is. Knowledge. It's just showed me I've fought Chad before in previous times, and doing it again now. Little differences here and there, but nothing major so far…well, except I'm alive, and you. Never seen you before."

"A lot of things are changing from the previous cycles Dark Rich. Most are coming from Universe 8."

Dark Rich took a sip of his wine. "Not my problem."

Ulysses leaned forward a little, putting his arms on the table. "It could become yours, over time. Think about it, it's showing signs already. You, affected by it, others will be eventually in this Universe, some will suffer madness, others, despair. Perhaps those close to you might."

Dark took another sip. "Maybe, Maybe not. Not like the Corruption, cursed wave or whatever most people call it will hold any answers for me about it."

"The Road I am to walk, might."

The clone looked amused a little. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I wish to walk a Road, leading into a great source of the Corruption. Perhaps within it, there are answers to questions we seek. Perhaps it might hold the answers you, want."

Dark Rich thought about this for a moment. "Hmm, follow a strange looking geezer into fuck knows where, to seek answers about this annoying corruption, or, spend another day listening to Kei go on about Chad this and Chad that and wondering when we'll visit the Hero Base…I suppose-" He put down the glass. "-Kei can look after herself for a day or two. Knowing her she'll run to Chad and ask him to help her find me, and that'll annoy him…I like it."

"Good. Shall we depart then?" Ulysses got himself up, and Dark Rich followed suit.

"Sure, better to get going sooner rather then later."

Ulysses once again said the angel's name, and he brought Dark Rich to his home, for him to see the other five that had arrived, and the angel in question.

The others had saw his arrival, and were looking at him in wonder, well except Sephiroth, he was focused on other things. Q walked over, looking more impressed then ever. "Wow, you really did manage to get him. My name is Q Dark Rich. Welcome to the little band we're building up. Care to take a seat?"

Dark Rich spotted Keaton, glaring a little. "That asshole is here, seriously?"

Keaton looked a little surprised at that. Q quickly explained. "Oh no no no no. This isn't your Keaton. This is a different Keaton. Please, have a seat. Get to know the group while Ulysses here has a few more errands to run."

The clone did so, walking up, grabbing a seat, and sitting next to Keaton, which actually unnerved the Grand Commander slightly, as his arrival had made everyone go silent for a little while, untill Terra spoke up. "So Keaton, as you were saying about the Earth you're from?"

That got the others talking again. Q meanwhile, after smiling over at them, turned to Ulysses, that impressed look he had rapidly faded. "Ulysses, the next two, I, don't think you should try…I've been thinking about it since we started this…"

"Oh?" Ulysses rose an eyebrow.

"Listen, they're a bit more, gone, then the ones I've sent you to so far. So, if you want, I think we'll be fine with the group we have." Q turned away from him, looking at the table. "So let's just have some food together, a little drink and-"

"I'm going to see them."

Q sighed deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, and in his voice was sadness. He didn't look at Ulysses. "Ulysses, I really don't think you can do anything for them. The first one is just…determined, far more then you are about seeing Richard Wily, and the other one, his, with the gap in time I've got for you to see him, is, just too far gone…"

"Send me to them. We'll see if I can convince them otherwise to come on the Road with us."

Q didn't answer that. He seemed to not do anything for a minute, before clicking his fingers, and Ulysses disappearing in that white flash again. "…You won't be able to."

* * *

This time, it was still on the Fallout world.

Within the Capital Wasteland, known for once being Washington D.C of this world.

There was a place called Vault 101, just beyond the ruins of the city…The Vaults were this planets nuclear bunkers, of experiments. The company that made them, Vault-Tec, twisted by the Enclave, used all of the Vaults they made for different groups of people and different ideas. As such, one Vault, once closed, would have Illusion creating gas flowing through it's air-vents, to see how the people reacted. Another was made to not seal correctly when the bombs fell, to see what would happen to the people inside with the high dosage of radiation pouring in, and another was to have no water supply, but alcohol…the ideas just continue on.

Vault 101 was to be forever sealed, to not allow people in or not. No one enters, no one leaves.

It's entrance, a massive cog shaped door, with in yellow paint '101' on the middle of it, was hidden inside a cave, which had a small wooden shack door leading out of it, into the wasteland. There was skeletons in the cave, victims of the bombs, that had been banging on the Vault door once it was sealed, begging to be let in to safety, before the bombs claimed them.

Laying at the side of the cave wall, in a sitting position, dribbles of blood oozing from his mouth, his body gone limp and pale, was an actual member of the Vault, who escaped it, when his father left it, to begin a project that had died off years ago.

The body wore the same leather outfit as the Richard Wily of this world, but on his version, it had '101' imprinted on it, and the body, who it was?

Chad Malyan.

He had left the Vault a few weeks ago, setting off to explore the wasteland for his father, who had departed before him, but, he had so far found little trace of him. He returned to the cave leading to the vault to think about his life a little, to think about where his old man would've gone to. He had little in the way of leads.

Then she found him, as he had been busy looking at the vault door. She spoke his name, making him turn and see his killer. Her long dark blue hair, violet eyes, slightly paled complexion, and her long pale turquoise dress. He asked her who she was, and what did she want, trying to be friendly, she was young afterall, and her dress….that alerted him that she was from somewhere beyond the wasteland, beautiful things like that were extremely rare to find, much less in great condition like that.

She used powers that he had never seen before, lightning from her hands, striking him, claiming she had followed the wrong one. He tried to get away, tried to even shoot her, but it was no use.

Leading to his present point, where he now sat, dead. Close to him, was the killer, sitting close to the cave wall herself, coughing, panting a little, sweating, and above all else, crying.

She never even noticed the door that leads into the cave creaking open, nor the figure that entered, and walked over to where she was, standing before her, first looking at the corpse nearby, then at the girl. Ulysses bent down with his knees, looking straight at her face, as she finally looked up at him in shock, just realizing he was there. "You don't belong on this world."

The girl didn't know what to say. Was he going to attack her? Try to kill her? Rape her even?

Ulysses looked her up and down, noticing something. "I can tell by the dress, and the fact your suffering from minor radiation poisoning. Here." He put his hand into one of his duster pockets, making her eyes focus on it, still frightened.

He pulled out a blood bag, which, instead of carrying blood, it carried a thin, orange substance. It had a rough written label on it saying 'RADAWAY', and a small needle, on a long tube, connected to it. He held the needle, and brought it close to her, making her inch further back. Noticing this, Ulysses chuckled a little. "This confirms it entirely. This will help you. It will remove the radiation out of your system. Please put one of your arms out."

She very, very cautiously did so. He slowly brought the needle to the top of her wrist, and after using his other hand to make a blood vein show up a little, said to her. "This will sting.", he gently pressed the needle in, making her wince from the little sting.

Ulysses, feeling the needle was in okay, picked up the bag, and gently begun squeezing it, the fluid inside slowly going into her arm, cold, icy liquid entering her veins. "You should soon feel a lot better. My name is Ulysses, and you, must be the one I've come to see. You know of corruption, right?"

She nodded, and with him saying his name, she felt it was fair to give him the same. "My name, is Lufia…"

"Welcome to the Capital Wasteland then, Lufia."

Soon, all the liquid of the bag was empty, and Ulysses, removed it from Lufia's arm, tossing the bag aside, and now sitting in front of her, explaining his story, saying about this world, The Divide, and part of what he came here for, just the part about him wanting to know her take on Corruption, not the fact he wanted her to come with him on a journey.

Lufia, once hearing his end of it, decided to explain hers. "My home, my world, was hit by a wave of Corruption. a lot of people, just, went insane, turned into beasts…I, woke up, like you in a way, and just saw the Chad I knew as, a puppet, a-"

"-Shadow, of the true person." Ulysses finished that part, knowing how that realization felt. "…Go on."

"Well, I, just couldn't stay with him, knowing what he was, and…and I killed him. I killed him because he wasn't the person who I loved anymore. He was just a shell. Like him." She looked over to the Chad Malyan nearby, his body fully pale now, the blood on his lips, dried and darkened. "I thought I found the real one this time, the Game Master, but, it wasn't. I came here for nothing…"

"How long have you been here for, on this world?"

"Three days. I, I found him just a day ago, and followed him to here." she answered.

"Have you drank anything? Eaten anything?"

"I had some bottles of water, and had to drink from a pool of dirty water when I first arrived. The bottled stuff wasn't that much better…"

Ulysses nodded. "From searching the wastes no less. Explains the radiation. No food?"

She shakes her head.

"Must be hard to keep going. I'm surprised you managed to kill him." he had to admit it was impressive for a person who isn't accustomed to the wasteland to live this long, with no visible weapons. He knew now that this is what it's going to be like on the road through the divide with the others.

"I'm trained in the magic arts. It's that same magic I used to bring me to this world…" her stomach was heard growling slightly.

"And you didn't bring any supplies. Alright. Come with me." Ulysses stood up, and first, walked over to Chad's corpse, and begun…undressing it. Removing whatever the body had, such as a few knives, two pistols, combat shotgun, a bottle of polluted water and a few odd bits and bobs and of course, the Vault suit.

Lufia was surprised at what Ulysses was doing, standing up eventually. "What, what are you-"

"In this world, it's wise to take what you can from the dead. They, have no more use for it." Ulysses soon was carrying nearly everything Chad had, leaving only the Pip-Boy that was on the boy's wrist, turned off for now, on the body. "Come on, we'll look for somewhere nearby to sell this for supplies."

Lufia simply followed him. They left the cave, into the destroyed world. They journeyed through a nearby small wrecked town, as Ulysses spotted a location that looked habited in the distance. This was confirmed by a huge metal sign they saw once they passed the barren town, the sign had the words, sprayed on via yellow paint 'MEGATON.'.

It was, from the outside, a wreckage, reformed into a fortification. It had rusted walls to isolate it from the outside world, and the front, it's only way in, had an old jet engine above it, and the two wings of the plane that they must've got the engine from, being used as a gate. They had one guy up on the engine, with a rifle, and at the gate, a robot that looked like something out of the 50's, called a protectron. It spoke as Ulysses and Lufia got close. "Welcome, to, Megaton. The bomb, is perfectly safe, we promise."

Ulysses guessed that this 'bomb' would explain the town's name.

Once inside, they saw the town.

It was in complete shambles. It was built in a crater where the bomb in question had struck, but didn't detonate, as they both could see clearly, at the center of this crater, was the bomb, surrounded by a small puddle of water. The homes were created around it, made of the scrap metal as they could salvage, it had a complex water piping system, made of rusted pipes, and walkways to these places made of old fences and pipes.

The population looked rather fine with this whole place being a mess, but as Ulysses knew, this was as good as most locations got. One man stood out when they got inside the place, a coloured man, with a light, black beard, brown eyes, a cowboy dirty brown hat, a green leather duster that had it's sleeves, unlike Ulysses's one, and had a little metal star badge on his chest.

He walked up to them both and greeted them. "Well now I'll be, two newcomers. The name's Lucas Simms, Town sheriff and mayor. Pleasure to you meet you both."

"Likewise. I was wondering if you have a place to sell excess gear. We need to lighten the load, and recover for a short time." Ulysses flatly said.

Lucas smiled. "Of course. Craterside Supply. It's on the east side of our town. Moira owns the place, she'll probably give you a good deal on whatever you want to get rid of. Hafta warn you though, she's a little…happy go lucky."

Ulysses thanked him, and motioned Lufia to follow him, as they both went to the east side as Lucas said, with them both spotting the sign for her shop in the distance as they went. As they passed by several people that lived here, they all kept turning their heads, looking at Lufia as she went past, making her a little nervous. She knew it was because she stood out.

They got to the shop, opening the metal door leading into it. Inside, it was essentially, a mess. Pieces of computers around, spanners, tools, up and downstairs it was the same. There was a guy standing close by, wearing dark brown leather armor, and an assault rifle on his back. He had medium dark brown hair, and was seen watching them both closely as they entered.

The other person here was Moira Brown. She was seen behind the counter, just hanging up a Vault suit, which had a metal shoulder pad on it, and 101 on the back. She had dark red hair, all tied at the back and twirled around, with brown eyes, and wearing a blue mechanic overall. She turned around after a moment, and saw Lufia and Ulysses. What was also noticeable about Moira was the fact that unlike most women,

She had a quite visible moustache.

"Oh hi! Welcome to Craterside Supply! How can I help you today?" she asked, with a great big smile on her face.

Ulysses begun talking to her, giving her the stuff he got off the corpse, while Lufia was looking around at the building. Despite the fact the Corruption had kicked in and made her realize her world was small to the size of the multiverse, and so were all the others, they still surprised her. She wondered as to how long ago this might have been made, and why make a town with a live weapon in the center of it…perhaps they felt safe with the danger inside or something, was all she could think up.

Ulysses meanwhile, after trading in all the gear, noticed Moira kept looking at Lufia, and decided to talk. "The woman has travelled far."

Moira nodded. "I can see that, with the dress. Never seen that neat of a dress for a very long time, must be a great place she came from, to travel to this wasteland…so, I take it you're the guy showing her around huh?"

Ulysses shook his head a little. "Simply trying to get her some supplies and a place to rest. She hasn't eaten in awhile, three days."

Moira looked surprised for a moment, then showing pity. "Aaaw that's so sweet of you, giving up all that stuff for her. I know! Why doesn't she stay with me for a bit? Free bed, no charge! And free snacks too! I got plenty from a trade in a couple of hours ago. I'll be happy to share."

Ulysses looked at Moira with suspicion. "…and no charge hmm? Why?"

"Well cos' then she can tell me about where she came from silly! Look at her! The land she's bound to be from has gotta be filled with working factories, water supply, you name it! I can write it all down in my book!"

Moira gave him a bag of bottle caps, then passed over the counter, a few red small boxes with the label 'Junk Food!' on. "Here, even you can have some, free of charge! Just let her stay for one night!"

Ulysses knew it wasn't his decision. "Lufia?"

Lufia snapped awake from her wondering, and turned to look at Ulysses and Moira. "Yes?"

"Have you slept much lately?"

Lufia shook her head. "No. This land is, worrying at night, and finding a comfy spot to sleep at is almost impossible."

"Do you mind staying here for a night to catch up on your rest? Moira here wants to learn about where you came from, food is included."

The deep blue haired girl was surprised at the offer. "Oh. That, that would be nice. Thank you Moira."

"Totally welcome." Moira replied, before looking back at Ulysses. "So you can keep the caps and take the extra snacks."

Ulysses looked at the bag, and the snacks, then remembered that this wasn't just a run of the mill helping out…he turned to Lufia, knowing he had to ask sooner or later. "Lufia, tomorrow, I'm leaving here to head on the road back in the Divide. I want you to come with me and others."

Lufia looked away a little, her face showed the sadness.

"I can't leave you here knowing what you seek is a man who can't give you what you want. The Gamemaster can't show that love you had with his shadow…giving a message, and exchanging feelings is different. What I aim for, is something he does not need, to understand and have. What your aiming for, is the impossible. He can't, love you."

His words were harsh, but he had a point to them. Lufia though, wanted to find that Chad, she had to. She just shook her head a little. "Ulysses, I'm sorry. Thank you for all this, I really won't forget what you've done for me but, I'm sorry. I have to find him. I can't walk the road with you."

Ulysses left the bag on the counter with the food, as he turned away from her and Moira. "The money and food is for Lufia. Make sure she stays safe for the night. I'm going to head out…" he looked to Lufia one last time. "…I bid you safe travels."

He didn't even wait for Lufia to say anything back, he simply opened the door, and left. As he closed the door behind him, standing outside, he felt a presence watching him, he looked up to his right, and spotted the person he saw before, just as they were about to go in the shop, who had been looking right at them.

Colin Moriarty. The man was leaning on the rail, listening to a nearby radio, looking right at Ulysses now, smoking a cigarette. Something told Colin this man was unique from other people from the outside, and Lufia was a dead giveaway. Ulysses meanwhile, walked over several pathways, leading up to where Colin was standing, just outside a steel building, with a neon light sign saying 'Moriarty's Saloon.'.

Ulysses stopped a few feet away from Colin, as the man put out his cigarette, and turned around, leaning with his back on the railing now, looking at Ulysses, the sun's rays were slowly getting dimmer, as the evening settled in. "So. I noticed the Vault suit you were carrying earlier before ya went in the store was a little bloody, and had 101 on it. Also felt a, cold chill in the air a little while ago. I presume the little baby boy of James is dead right? Chad Malyan?"

Ulysses nodded. "He's moved on from this world, into the next. I did not kill him though. He was dead already when I found him."

"By that little sweet lass right? The oddly dressed sweetheart, no doubt an off-worlder."

The wastelander nodded. "Correct."

Colin chuckled. "Knew when I felt her presence she didn't come here for a vacation."

"Felt her…" Ulysses looked Colin right in the eyes, then he finally recalled the man, from a time long ago, thanks to the corruption. "…You're an angel, aren't you?"

"More of a Deity lad. But I do serve the Chaos Lord. And you're one of them, your mind has been opened to the truth, hasn't it? You look like a walker of this world, but I recognize the gear, several pieces of it…a lot of it from Nevada, and no one has gotten this far from there."

Ulysses responded with silence, crossing his arms.

"So, gonna leave her here are we?"

"She has her own path to follow. One that does not require my presence."

Colin chuckled. "Well as long as she doesn't go off on a killing spree, ya left her in the right hands. Moira's got a good heart, and Megaton might be a shithole in looks, but it's very secure."

Ulysses nodded. "I doubt she will stay here much longer then today, but that's good to hear regardless. I must get going."

Colin looked offended. "What? Do I stink or somethin'? Stick around, have some booze and a gal. Nova would love to get to know you, ya look rugged and tough, she likes that in a guy."

The staff carrier didn't answer that, and simply muttered Q, to head back to the missile silo. Colin heard him though, and mumbled to himself "Q huh…wonder what that little jokester is up to now…"

* * *

Ulysses didn't find himself back in the silo. He found himself in, what seemed to be a throne room, a huge one. It had a shattered glass ceiling, allowing in the pale moonlight from the two moons above, it's walls made of steel, it's floor, tiled with white marble, and a red, rotten old velvet cloth covered the floor in a straight line, from the golden doors that could be seen at the entrance to this room, to the two thrones that were close by, both made of steel, with a red cushion on each…and two naked girls on them.

Both were tied in place, wrapped up by flesh like vines, of red, blue and black colours, around their ankles, wrists, neck and torso, just beneath their breasts. The vines were around the chair, and had held the girls so it seemed like they were sitting there with their hands on the arm rests of the chairs. The vines were seemingly coming from the marble flooring close by, small, cracked holes in it, showing where they spawned from.

One of the girls had long pink hair, decent sized breasts, and appeared to be about 20. The other girl had long brown hair, pale skin, two butterfly hairpieces in either side of her hair, and smaller breasts then the other girl, and she had cuts on her, several of them, pretty deep too, with dried red blood over the wounds. Them being naked confused Ulysses, but it was soon to be answered, as a voice, slightly echoey and distorted, spoke to him, coming from where the doors were, having appeared without sound. "I know your face…"

Ulysses slowly turned, and standing there, was Richard Wily…of Universe 10. He had changed. his hair had become a much darker brown, his skin was extremely pale, purple veins were showing in his skin, mostly on his neck and hands, with a few around his face. His eyes were dark purple now, and the claws that he had proudly on his back, had turned black, with the tips of them a bloody red colour. He had with him, the Dark Wolf, a red aura flowing around it, as it was stored in it's case. He was older now, appearing to be 23, before he stopped aging altogether from what he was.

Ulysses could see similarity in the face and hair style, knowing this was a Richard…was it another shell though? "You. You are Richard Wily…the Game Master?"

Richard chuckled darkly, shaking his head, as he walked over to Ulysses. "No. I'm not him. Tell me, you are, Ulysses, aren't you? The man of the divide? He who walks the 'road' as you put it?"

Ulysses nodded, not sure if he should grab his staff. "I am."

Richard had stepped up right close to Ulysses, smirking evilly, looking at the man closely, then, going by him, moving towards the thrones a little. "I know what you've come for. To ask me to follow you on the road. Tell me, do you even know-" he turned and faced Ulysses. "-how long ago you finished, walking that path in this timeline?"

"…What?"

"Did you even know your travelling through time to gain your companions for this road of yours? It's been a good six weeks since you walked that path Ulysses. You became the 'better man' for it, just like Q wanted. You already have your 'other people' that will come with you. I'm not one of them."

Ulysses was just, thrown off by this. Was this what he was doing? He thought he was just going world to world, but through time?

"…You didn't know, did you? Tch, this is what I expect from a natural. You can't even notice the fact you've been going back and forth to pluck people from their times to come to yours."

"A natural?" it was all he could think about asking to this Richard.

"A natural, Ulysses, is someone who's been effected by the corruption across this Multiverse, gaining a random level of knowledge, sometimes alot, sometimes little, can make you go mad, can make you think everything is fake. The bottom basic part of it is that it makes you realize your tiny little world is part of a greater, much greater work. I, am an unnatural. I am a rarity, gifted beyond nearly all of you. A fully aware being."

Ulysses didn't need to ask, his surprised look on his face gave it away.

"I know everything, Ulysses. I was made by corruption like Akao, a friend of the Game Masters…of course you never visit her, but anyway, We who are, are more likely to hit this stage when our minds open. Mine opened about…180 years ago, while I sat in Oblivion, being haunted by illusions."

"Oblivion, is the plain before the end, past the Farplanes. I was sent there about…202 years ago, as Chad Malyan and Roll of my Universe, destroyed my body and soul. My fragmented spirit reformed in the plain, and I was trapped, in a endless colourless mansion, waiting for Death, to collect me, and obliterate my memories and spirit, and recycle it back into the Lifestreams to start again."

"Do you know what it's like waiting Ulysses? Waiting in a realm where illusions of those you knew come and go, laugh at you, mock you? All you hear beyond the illusions is the tick of time? Where no other being beyond those images exist in the vast mansion your forever trapped in?" Richard had clenched one of his fists in fury.

"I had to spend all that time till just a week ago, living in that. For the first years, I was looking for the way out, trying to get back, get revenge on Roll and Chad for what they did…then, one day, my mind finally snapped open."

He slowly looked down to his clenched fist, droplets of black blood was coming from between his fingers. " I went like you Ulysses. Mad. Completely mad. Laughing at the reality of the Multiverse, what it was made from, all the history that existed. I laughed. I couldn't stop, the illusions left me alone for that time. I laughed, cried, screamed and tore at myself for, must've been for years."

"Slowly, I put things back together…I begun hunting the illusions, murdering them, eating them, raping them. There's alot of pleasure in skinning a girl while raping them Ulysses, two thousand, seven hundred and sixty two Rolls experienced it. The screams are delightful."

"I kept going, kept making myself realize I knew now. I knew everything. Every day, new memories would flood into my mind, and I would place them apart, and look at them. It's easy to go through Trillions of memories once you get the hang of it. It became my daily life cycle. I even begun painting the mansion rooms with the blood of the illusions. It was real fun, and I could enjoy plenty of meat to keep my Zerg urges, as mute and disabled as they were, at bay…but mostly I did it to see and feel the reaction from Chad, Roll, so, so many others, as they tried to escape me."

"But now…" he relaxed his hand, showing cuts on it from clenching so hard, and slowly motioned around him. "This. I'm back from that, back from oblivion, and dealing with those that made all this possible, made all of us suffer endlessy, to break them and shatter their lives…The Game Masters."

"The Game Masters?" This caught Ulysses's attention.

Richard looked to the wastelander, smirking once again. "Of course…ah, and you don't know it, do you? The actual truth? Your natural awareness hasn't allowed you to know that…that's fine. You don't need to. But I'll say this, enjoy the road while you can. When you reach this time, you'll have a few hours…before everything, EVERYTHING, in this multiverse…ends."

"Ends? What do you mean by that?" Ulysses looked to the girls behind Richard.

Richard laughed a little. "Oh, because when the Gamemasters, one of them, is dead, sooner then they should be…it'll all end. that's why I dragged these two beauties here." motioning at the two girls. "Meet Lucy Valentine and Iris Kazuma, as her true last name is. Both are quite cherished by two of the Game Masters…the two I feel that can provide me with the satisfaction of seeing the end of this Multiverse once I've killed one of them."

"I've made them naked for my own enjoyment, and as you can see with Iris, I've had…some fun." He looked at her. "She just so happened to come here to try and help them get in my way, and I had to deal with her. She's alive, don't worry. Wouldn't want her family to come down on me at the wrong time."

"See, my rebirth was not in any gods plans. I'm an extra cog in the works, changing what they have in mind, effecting the future they foresaw…a golden opportunity for me." He looked to Ulysses now. " A maverick angel called Smith helped me live all this time in oblivion, and knew that a certain Gamemasters corruption power would, in the right conditions, bring me back…the one you're wanting to give that message to, Richard Chandos…or was it Wily? Heheheh."

Ulysses had listened to all this, and tried to think it through, mostly to try and reason with this person, who clearly has gone off the deep end more so then Ulysses ever did. He also feared for the girls lives, under the eye of a psycho like this. "What is all this for then? Ending the Multiverse. Why?"

Richard looked surprised, then angered. "Why? Because of the Game Masters, and Chad and Roll! My fate 200 years ago was decided by the former, and dealt out by the latter! This is my chance of vengeance for what they've made me suffer! Roll and Chad will be watching from their graves, as I end everything, and it'll show them I cannot be stopped, no matter how much time passes! It'll show them, the Game Masters, even that bastard Smith who's abandoned me just because I failed to retrieve something important! I'll show them all!"

Ulysses waited, as Richard continued. "The Game Masters wrote my fate Ulysses! WROTE it! I was doomed before I had a chance! They deserve to pay for denying me a fair chance! They planned for my failure to adapt to a normal life, for turning back to my evil ways, and dying a fool!"

Ulysses slowly shook his head, and crossed his arms. "A blaze of hatred. that's something we both have in common, no matter who or what it's aimed that. But you need to think. You've been given a chance to live a life again, despite the past. A chance to take a different path. Why waste your life in this mad mission?" On one of the thrones, Lucy begun to wake up a little, heavily dazed and weak, just making out the figures of Ulysses and Richard.

Richard was about to just laugh in Ulysses face, but, he couldn't. there was logic, behind what he said. "…Then what would you expect of me? Of what I am now?"

Ulysses slowly stepped towards Richard. "To make yourself a better person. To stand and walk a new path, away from destruction and oblivion. You said I am to become a better person by walking the road, right?"

The chaos soul looked a little uneasy. "Yes."

"Then you can come with me. Learn to be a better person as well. Walk the road with the rest of us."

Richard averted his eyes from Ulysses's. "…This is what life has made me." he walked around and past Ulysses, walking towards the golden doors, before turning around. "My once wishes to dream, to be different, died long after you came and found me on RE886 all those years ago…I, am what you see now, what this Universe and Chad and Roll have made me. Their actions against me-"

Ulysses sighed, waving his hand to cut Richard off, looking at him in a way that one would pity a child who just lost his way. "So it was me, by time travelling, that made you think before? Then think now, like you did back then. End this. Let the girls go. We can both return to the Divide and the Game Masters won't know. You can set out on your own new path after. The Richard Wily of my world would never go this far to get revenge, that means nor would the Richard that is a Game Master, you know this because your mind is fully open, and that means nor should you, you know better then that!"

Richard was silent now, looking straight at Ulysses, his face showing his mixed feelings about this. Something inside his black heart had changed slightly with the memories of his own life taking hold in the vast knowledge he had. Not the memories of hate, of battles and war, but of the time he was at peace, his eventual settling down, before being sparked into battle again.

"There is a better way, Richard Wily!"

He shook his head, weakly saying "It's too late. I can't turn back."

Ulysses took a few steps forward, knowing he was getting to Richard. "It's not too late. You still have a chance. A choice, make the right one and stop this!"

Richard was shaking a little, looking down at the floor, twitching. His emotions that he gained from his time of peace surfacing. "I, can't fight, what I am."

"Yes you can!" Ulysses made another few steps forward, reaching out for Richard to grab him and try to make him look Ulysses in the eyes again.

It failed.

The emotions had been pushed back in by Richard, and he quickly moved a few steps back, looking up at Ulysses, panting a little, and glaring, his Zerg claws fully opened out. Ulysses knew he hadn't broken through to him. "…Ulysses, I'll show you my true nature. Our true nature. We're destined to battle them, all of us, infected, woken up. We are to remind them, that this is what they've brought to themselves. I'll end them, and end this Multiverse…I'll prove it." from the ground, the fleshy zerg vines flowed up and around him, covering him from head to foot, then, he disappeared, along with the vines…no doubt to go and fight the Game Masters now instead of later.

Ulysses turned and look at where the girls were, noticing Richard was using his veins to move them somewhere, as they were quickly covered over, with Ulysses spotting Lucy looking right at him, before they vanished…leaving him alone.

Ulysses felt defeated, beaten by the fact Q was right…neither of them could be helped…

Q, he had a little explaining to do about this, time travel business.

Ulysses uttered the letter, and he disappeared.

* * *

"…I did miss out that important part, didn't I?"

The voice was of Q. He was seated at one end of the table in the Silo, with Ulysses sitting at the other. The other six were down the middle, listening to Q, after Ulysses explained to them the fact is they're all from different times, having learnt it from Richard. Dark Rich had chuckled after hearing it and said it would explain why Barrel looks at him oddly.

Q sat back, looking a little guilty, putting his hands together. "Well I admit, I had simply forgotten. I'm surprised you didn't notice Ulysses. Then again, you were just doing what you were asked and not thinking about it. Well alright I'll explain. Yes, half, of you here are from different timelines."

"Half of us?" Keaton queried.

"Wouldn't this create a time paradox?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yes to you Keaton, no to you Sephy. Keaton, myself, Ulysses and Terra here are all from the same time. Well, what WAS the same time. See, it's complicated. To stop any chance of a time paradox occurring, I plan on sending you all back bar myself and Ulysses to the same time you left your respective worlds…so really, you and Terra are now…eight hours behind me and Ulysses."

Q then pointed out to, in order as what he says, " The oldest person timeline wise is Barrel here. His from 205 years ago, and from Universe 10. Dark Rich is next by 203 years. Then comes Toki, who's from a year ago, and finally Sephiroth, who's from six months ago, after Ulysses met him six months before that."

"…Why didn't you send me to see to this, Akao, Richard had mentioned during my encounter with him?" Ulysses had remembered that small minor detail…he remembered all of the encounter.

"Look, there's hundreds of people who's minds are open Ulysses. I picked these ones for you to gather because they have moments when they aren't being monitored by my brothers and not intertwined with major things. Akao is with the Game Masters, plucking her out would be like trying to find a phaser in the middle of desert where the ground is filled with poisonous scorpions at every inch BUT where the phaser is…dig the wrong place, and you my friend, are fucked."

Ulysses didn't reply to that. He went silent, looking at Q carefully, before standing up. "We should depart soon. Eat and drink what you can. I'll go and sort out some supplies we may need." He walked away from the table, heading over to a huge double steel door, which opened, showing itself to be a lift, before getting into it, and pressing a button, going to a different floor.

Dark Rich looked at Q " His not happy with you."

Q turned his head to Dark Rich, and, laced with sarcasm. "Brilliant observation there professor Dark, I NEVER would've guessed." He sighed soon after. "It's not my fault that it's hard to find timings for what we want to do. I told him not to visit the last two but he wanted to, so it's his own fault for finding out about Akao and the possibility of many others, not mine."

Their time of eating together remained in silence, untill Ulysses returned, carrying a rucksack on his back with his staff…he asked them all if they were ready. They nodded, and he told them to meet him down on the ground level via the lift. As Q moved to follow the others, Ulysses motioned him to stay put, and when the others had got on the lift, and seeing that Ulysses and Q were standing put, pressed the ground level button, going down, and leaving them behind.

Q was ready for this, expecting Ulysses to complain. Instead, he asked something in a rather calm tone. "…I saw Richard in a future time. He said his revival was not in the plans of the gods, it was unexpected. How did you know of his return?"

Q answered simply. "I have connections. Not just my brothers you know. I've, talked to someone before, who told me it was going to come to pass."

"So he failed then?"

"I'm not inclined to say, as it is still the future…we may be in an alternate timeline where he'll succeed. We can never know fully."

Ulysses accepted that. They both head to the lift, and Ulysses, in his mind, decided it was time to show them…

The Divide he knew.

He and Q met them on the ground floor, which was dark, wet and surrounded by rusted metal instruments. He showed them the way out, and before them…buildings, toppled and in ruins, huge water pipes, burst, with their water now flowing freely into the canyon of where this place resided…it was night time now, the sky above could just about be seen, with little to no stars visible.

There was no signs of life, only silence bar the sound of water flowing.

Terra looked shocked at the place. "…This, is your home?"

"After the missiles and bombs here erupted, the Divide, a place filled with life, rising from the ashes of the old world, was destroyed in a blink of an eye. Thanks to the Courier."

"Why make your home in a ruined place like this, when you could gain opportunities elsewhere?" Keaton was still looking at the ruins.

"Because it was here I learnt the message from him…it was here I planned to give him a message back…and it is here that now leads to our Road…come." Ulysses turned around, and headed back inside.

Everyone else quickly followed, as they noticed, once inside, they were heading for the lift again. "Leads to our Road?" Barrel asked.

As they all got inside, Ulysses looked at the buttons of the lift, that were on a panel. He removed the panel, showing, beneath it, in the wiring and back sections of the buttons, there was another button, one that didn't show on the panel. "I had this hidden from view…it leads to beyond what I know."

He pressed the new button, and the lift started going down. "I once came down here, and the corridor beyond these doors, gave me the feeling no one should walk it, to the other side of this place, into the rest of the divide."

The doors of the lift opened.

It was a walkway, a blue painted one….very, very dimly lit, with a few flickering lights, a few skeletons were on the walkway, and in the far distance, they saw a few small lights, showing a rusted steel door…the rest of the place was as dark as anything, and there was whispers, faint, haunting whispers, of pain and agony, from what it sounded like.

It felt like something was watching them closely in that corridor, that something was waiting to consume them.

Q, despite being an angel, felt something he hadn't felt in ages. "Damn, I, I know I'm not one to normally suffer fear but…eesh."

Sephiroth found his reaction amusing, and saw Dark Rich make the first few steps, but then stop just outside the lift, seemingly hesitant. Sephiroth chuckled and walked, going past Dark Rich and saying "What's the matter? Are you afraid too?"

Dark gave the middle finger behind Sephiroth's back, and soon followed him. Toki soon moved, and so did Barrel and Keaton. The last three, Ulysses, Terra and Q brought up the rear, with Terra holding onto Ulysses arm as they moved. He didn't blame her, he found this just as worrying and fear inducing, feeling the likes of Sephiroth and Dark Rich deserved respect for being bold.

They all passed the bones of others, and the flickering lights, to the steel door, which, as they got close, begun to open by itself, no doubt via a sensor device or something. It opened horizontally, and as it did, it showed them what's beyond, as they all looked, and soon stepped out of the place, finding themselves on the edge of a cliff, with a slope nearby to lead them down into this part of the divide.

The sky above, was clouded fully over. Little of the moons light reached this place…ahead…it was the ruins, but, unlike that of the divide, these ones didn't look so, destroyed and broken. Many of the buildings in the canyon here still stood strong…from what they could see from the top of the said buildings anyway.

Several feet below them, was where the buildings came from…and it was not visible whatsoever. A dust storm covered it all, looking menacing and dark by the fact it was night. They were positioned above the storm, feeling only hints of the wind coming from it…but the slope was the only way ahead for them, meaning they would have to venture down into the storm of the Divide.

Ulysses looked ahead, as did the others.

The Divide.

The Road.

It was time to walk it, together.

Their path to technology, to understanding and perhaps hope, was about to begin.

* * *

Preview: (The Italic is voiced by Ulysses.)

"_The storm…"_

Q was seen, standing with Ulysses and Sephiroth, as they heard laughter, coming from the thick dust of the storm ahead, blocking their path.

"_It's more then just a force of nature, scarred by the divide…"_

"Now now little Q, whadda think your doing all the way out here?"

Q knew the Scottish accent voice, suddenly deeply worried. "Oh no…"

Sephiroth looked at Q, interested. "Is it a threat then?"

"_It's more then dust, gathered from the earth…"_

Slowly, stepping out of the thick dust storm, was Sheogorath, complete with his staff, Looking pissed off. "You shouldn't be trying to come to places yer don't understand. If you don't turn back, I'll have to kill you and your little mortal friends here."

"_It's alive. And it doesn't like visitors."_

We now saw Terra, looking worried, as we now see her on top of an old helipad, and walking out of yet another thick storm, was someone else, wearing armoured Vault gear, with the number 13 on his back, with a pip boy, and a power fist on his hand.

"Who are you?" Terra demanded.

"Me? Why, I'm Courier Six."

And lo and behold, there stood Richard Wily, with a light beard from not shaving, a little dirt on his face, motioning with his thumb at himself, complete with an evil grin.

"The name's Richard Wily, and you're working with someone I want dead."

* * *

Notes:

1. Okay, the major one I feel. What time do these people get taken or are met by Ulysses.

Ulysses, Terra, Q and Keaton: A year into Gamemaster (No specific Chapter time yet folks!)

Sephiroth: Within an earlier time of Gamemaster.

Barrel: Joins pretty much during the Darkmega war of Broken Universe sooo…during Chapter 8.

Dark Rich: Later on in Broken Universe.

Toki: 200 years later in the Broken Universe.

Lufia: Gamemaster.

Richard and being spotted by Lucy: Later Times in a Crossover incident.

2. For those who get lost, lemme make it simple.

Cast in this Chapter from Terran Empire Verse, Universe 20: Elijah, Frank, Bill, Sullivan, Chuck, Zack and McNamara.

Cast in this Chapter from Gamemaster Verse, Universe 8: Ulysses, Courier Richard, Lufia, Lucy, Iris, Keaton, Sephiroth, Cloud and Tifa, Terra, Moira, Lucas and Colin

Cast in this Chapter from Broken Verse, Universe 10: Barrel, Toki, Kei, Eraqus, Dark Rich, Tifa (in the bar with Dark Rich.), Q, Richard Wily.

3. Time Travel is a bitch.

Is all.


End file.
